Othertale
by ArtisticVicu
Summary: Othertale is a two part story unbalanced between the two parts; two parts separated by where Sans is: Undertale, a dream becoming a nightmare, and Othertale, the reality forgotten. The majority of the story will occur in the Othertale portion. Part 1: Undertale Chapter 1 - Chapter 2 Part 2: Othertale Chapter 3 - Chapter 8
1. Part 1: Undertale Chapter 1

**Othertale**

 _Undertale AU_

 _Sans centered_

 _Rating: PG-13_

 _Rated for plot and character deaths_

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Summary:  
Undertale is nothing more than a dream; a dream that slowly becomes a nightmare as time passes. Unlike the game, our main character is Sans, Sans the Skeleton, and, sadly, he is our dreamer, living reset after excruciating reset in Undertale till, at last, he wakes. Mind filled with nothing but what he lived in Undertale, Sans struggles to regain the memories he had lost and return to the person that everyone remembers. Thing is, the world he has awoken to is nothing like Undertale.

Othertale is a two part story written when time permits and is unbalanced between the two parts. Undertale is the first half, Othertale the second, the two separated by where Sans is: Undertale, a dream becoming a nightmare, and Othertale, the reality forgotten. The majority of the story will occur in the Othertale portion.

Part 1: Undertale | Chapter 1 - Chapter 2  
Part 2: Othertale | Chapter 3 - final chapter

Notes:  
Please note that a large part of this first chapter is direct script from the video game and that the repetition in this chapter is on purpose. Not all of the repetition is word for word. We slowly ease out of it in the next chapter as well.

* * *

 **Part 1: Undertale**

 _Chapter 1_

It felt like a miracle he was even waking up with how bad his head was pounding. He was pretty certain he was either stupid lucky he hadn't cracked his skull on the floor or that someone had found him rather quickly after he had collapsed. He grumbled lowly to himself, shifting against the mattress. He had known he was going to pass out. Why did he have to fight it?

He frowned. Weird. Why did it feel like he was on a mattress with no sheet?

He pushed himself off the mattress enough to look even as every bone in his body complained at the action. Sure enough, he came face to face with the bare mattress he had been face down on.

Something was wrong. He looked to the side, finding himself in his room, buddle of sheets and blankets at the foot of his bed looking like a boulder as usual. Except, this wasn't his room nor – to his bewilderment – the room he expected to wake up in. But it was his room and there was no reason why he should be waking up anywhere else. The whole duality (or, in this case, triality) was really not helping the pounding in his head as it sent a wave of vertigo through him.

He settled on the edge of the mattress as he attempted to will his headache away. The sound of footfall outside his room then the sudden pounding at his door did nothing to aid his attempt.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans the Skeleton flinched, but smiled warmly at his brother's voice even as a sense of _wrong_ went through him. "Five more minutes, Pap," he called out in return, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. Sans chuckled. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied, getting up. He regretted it instantly. His entire being throbbed painfully but he pushed it all aside as he grabbed whatever was closest and dressed. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Heavy footfall fading away was enough for him to clue where his brother was heading. He attempted to deny the sense of _wrong_ that had come with the thought of his brother's destination.

He attempted to deny that the feeling had been associated with the jacket he had grabbed, blue with a fake fur lined hood that seemed to be too bright in color, as if it wasn't even real.

He tugged on a different shirt and cleaner shorts, though cleanliness was more relative in this case. When had he become such a slob?

The scent coming from the kitchen was foreign and familiar as he stepped out of his room, closing his door securely behind him. The fresh wave of vertigo was accompanied by nausea and it took all he had to manage his way down the stairs.

Every part of him was screaming _WRONG_ and yet there was nothing wrong. Everything was as it should be. There was nothing out of place, nothing incorrect. But, no matter how hard he tried, he came to a stop at the kitchen door, gripping the doorframe for support as he tried to keep from shaking.

Before him was his brother, back turned to him as the taller skeleton tended to something on the stove, battle body on like always. Sans found it equal parts easy and difficult to recall why the taller was wearing the strange attire that wasn't strange at all.

His headache pulsed painfully behind his left eye and he pressed the heel of a hand to the socket, willing the headache away.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," Sans urged playfully, though there was no honesty to the emotion. It was like he was sprouting memorized lines and, as he settled into a chair, he found that this whole situation felt like an act in a play. It was a very strange analogy, one he wasn't sure he knew the origin of.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed and Sans was grateful the other was too busy focusing on cooking to have seen the flinch at the volume. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

To say that he was startled when a plate of spaghetti was placed before him was an understatement. He had been expecting something else, something completely different to be placed before him but, when he tried to remember what he had been expecting, it slipped through his fingers like smoke.

The scent of a specific cigarette assaulted him long enough for him to register it but not to pinpoint the memory it dredged up.

He hid his shudder by grinning at his brother, commenting, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise. What was wrong with him? Why was he suddenly experiencing all this? Papyrus always made spaghetti. Heck, he was pretty sure his bro didn't know how to make anything else. But there had been that scent as well, whatever that scent had been. It had been brief, it had been so potent, like he should know what it had come from and should have remembered what it was but, just like the sudden expectation of a different kind of food for breakfast, he couldn't figure out what it had been.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the bitterness and the _wrong_ washed over his senses. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, shuddering at the taste and willing his body to retain it. He put his fork down and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noticed that Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place. Sans let that ease his smile bigger. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house was probably worse than him stepping out of his room. Vertigo washed over him and the breakfast spaghetti nearly made an encore as he stumbled in the snow. He couldn't breathe as his gaze snapped around, horror sinking in.

Wrong, wrong, _wrong_. It was all wrong! There was-this was all-No! This was wrong! This was-

"BROTHER?!" Sans jerked, finding his brother's hands securely on his arms. Sans felt like screaming. "BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

"Yeah, bro," he spoke, his words coming easily and the lie even easier. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus released him and Sans almost reach out towards him, fearing he would fall face first into the snow. Thankfully, he didn't. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

"Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind but it was weird. The sense of _wrong_ hadn't left and it was just getting stronger the longer they passed through town. There should be more homes, more people, _different people_ , but Sans knew this had always been who had been here, that the buildings were as they had always been. The library with its misspelled sign, the path that led to the few houses north and the dog that chucked ice to keep the core cool, Grillby's on the other side of the path. It was all as it should be but it was all wrong.

He looked up and wished he hadn't.

Sans shoved the sudden claustrophobia away as his magic reacted, yanking at the world around him and depositing him behind Papyrus. He nearly stumbled face first into the snow as he suddenly appeared on his brother's heel. This time actual panic rushed through him. Teleportation was a thing he did naturally but what he had just done was not what he normally did.

His head pulsed painfully.

He felt like screaming in frustration as his head pounded and just teleport back to his room and stay there. This was not right, not fair! Why was he feeling like he was suddenly not right in his own bones? This…this was….it just….

He came to a stop at the bridge as a sense of apathy settled over him. It was foreign but welcomed as he focused on his brother already halfway across the long bridge. He took a second, grounding himself in the sudden apathy.

All the wrong fell away.

When he opened his sockets, Papyrus was nearly cross the bridge. With no effort, he brushed the world around him with his magic and, as he took a step, he went from one end of the bridge to the other in the blink of an eye. Papyrus glanced back as his boots touched solid ground but Sans only gave him a lazy grin and continued to follow.

The canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans went with the motions, speaking words he didn't even have to think about. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans chuckled and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, the apathy did as well. With his brother out of sight and being so far from another living soul, Sans found it hard to even keep the apathy in place.

He was reacquainted with the breakfast spaghetti but, thankfully, it was through expelled magic rather than half digested food. He shuddered, his bones rattling at the force. He didn't even want to know where that knowledge came from and hoped he forgot about it as he had everything else that morning.

He frowned.

No, he could remember that morning, but it was hard. He remembered that something at breakfast had startled him but he couldn't remember what. He remembered that waking up that morning had been weird but he couldn't…..couldn't…

He came to abruptly, finding himself slumped forward in a chair, head resting on the counter of the sentry station in a clearing with an interestingly shaped lamp. He rubbed his face as he sat up, frowning. Odd…he couldn't remember making it to the sentry station let alone falling asleep at it. He looked around. Nope, nothing strange beyond the lamp. Pulling at the world, he stood at the edge of the clearing, barely making out an interesting structure farther down the path in the fog. It took nothing to take a shortcut closer and he found himself coming up on a ravine that had an old bridge crossing it, a massive wooden structure that looked more like rectangular arches than a gate. He chuckled, passing through the gate. Leave it to his brother to create the most interesting of things. He sporadically used shortcuts, only moving as far as he could see.

It was probably the wisest thing he had ever done because he would have ended up teleporting into a door and he much preferred not being a permanent addition to the underground's historic structure. He pressed a hand to the stone door, a smile tugging at his face. Exhaustion pulled at his bones again and Sans went easily with it this time, teleporting to a high branch in a nearby tree.

He settled in to nap only for a low rumble of stone grating against stone to fill the quiet forest.

He sat up, his gaze automatically locking onto the door set into the wall. He watched as a tiny human stepped out. Oh, he knew the figure wasn't a monster. It was very obvious the tiny person was not a monster.

He slipped from his branch and the world bent and stretched around him as he teleported so that he landed on the tough-looking branch the kid – it had to be a kid – had walked around. Spend magic dissipated quickly and the surprise the sound seemed to cause in the human was amusing. He fell back a ways before shifting the world around him and returning to a few paces behind the kid. The kid stopped at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them.

He came to a stop just outside of arm's reach, anticipation racing through him like adrenaline. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he states plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The words came easily and tasted familiar but that was nothing new. The kid turned around slowly. He reached out, offering his hand to this human that had been labeled a danger by Asgore long before the human had ever fallen.

The kid took his hand.

The whoopee cushion deflated between their palms and Sans's smile broke into a grin. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a confused giggle as Sans tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But…y'know…" Sans shrugged, "I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Motion over the kid's head drew Sans's attention briefly and his face lit up. He'd know that silhouette anywhere, even from this distance through the light fog. "Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He focused back on the kid, catching the tail end of their rotation to see what he was looking at. "I have an idea." The kid looked back at him. "Go through this gate thingy." The kid glanced at the gate, worry marring their expression. Sans nodded. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

It was a breath, a moment that allowed Sans to watch as the kid's worry turned into determination, before the kid turned right around and walked through the massive structure's posts. Sans kept pace with them, following them through to the other side and then some. Surprisingly enough, the oddly-shaped lamp that had always been next to his station was suddenly conveniently-shaped and very useful, especially with his brother heading their way. "Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

The kid gave him a hesitant smile before they hurried to hide behind the lamp. Just in time, too. Papyrus came striding in like he always did, with a purpose and an air of confidence. It made Sans's smile turn endearing. "Sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP," BROTHER!" Papyrus snapped, his voice still at its loudest volume. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp," Sans easily supplied, gesturing lazily at the lamp the kid had hid behind. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus shouted, stomping his foot. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shifted his stance, a hand on his hip, a hand on his chest, and somehow his cape billowing dramatically behind him. Sans snorted on a laugh. His brother was the best. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm," Sans offered, "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans shrugged, a mischievous half grin on his face. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a _ton_ of work done today." He winked. "A skele- _ton_."

Papyrus bristled. "SANS!"

"Come on. You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans could not help himself. He felt his grin grow as he commented, "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…down to the bone."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, _BACKBONE_ INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sans chuckled right along with his brother, so proud. Papyrus made his exit with that laugh and Sans's chuckles died with the taller skeleton's exit. He waited, watching Papyrus turn around briefly and give a final, "Heh!" before fully leaving. Once he was sure his brother was fully gone, he shifted his weight and his head to look at the lamp. "Ok, you can come out now."

The kid wandered out from behind the lamp, cautious but clearly happy. The kid walked right up to him without a worry and Sans chuckled. "You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does," Sans winked, "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." The kid smiled at that, but said kid didn't look like they were planning on leaving any time soon. Sans's smile fell a bit. "What's the holdup?" The kid returned their attention to him, inadvertently showing their worry to him. He kicked his smile back up, offering honestly, "Look, there's nothing to be afraid of." He winked, trying to get the kid to lighten up as an idea started to form in the back of his mind. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters." The kid's face twisted up in conflict and Sans couldn't help but arch an eye ridge at them. "Well?"

The kid looked up at him and nodded, determination on their face. With a wave goodbye, the kid was off, and Sans gave a huff of a laugh. The kid was definitely something else. Which could mean…

"Actually, hey," he called out. The kid stopped, turning to look at him with a curious expression. "Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking, my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous," Sans quickly informed the human, already seeing the worry reach into the human's expression again, "even if he tries to be."

There's a pause before the human nodded in agreement. Sans felt a part of his soul ease at that. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead."

Sans waved goodbye and headed back to the bridge only to pull at the world and step up behind Papyrus.

"Hey, bro," Sans called out, gaining his brother's attention.

"SANS!" Papyrus commented, partially annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT AT YOUR POST?"

Sans shrugged, smiling. "Aw, come on, bro. Our conversation conveniently reminded me you never finished your tale from earlier. The one about Undyne."

"HONESTLY?" Sans nodded. Papyrus's face lit up. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE–"

Movement from the path leading to the sentry station drew Papyrus's attention, cutting his renewed story off. Sans watched Papyrus, already knowing who was approaching. The kid's footfall was pretty unique. Sans looked to the kid when Papyrus looked back at him and looked to Papyrus when his brother returned his gaze to the human. They did this probably eight or nine times till they were spinning around, coming to a stop facing the human. Sans was trying very hard not to fall over as the world kept spinning. The fact that he was trying not to laugh wasn't helping. Papyrus quickly spun Sans around the other way, rushing in what was as close to a stage whisper as Papyrus got, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…A HUMAN!?"

They turned back around and Sans, out of habit, couldn't help but mess with his brother. "Uhhhh...Actually, I think that's a rock."

Papyrus deflated. "OH."

Sans was quick to bring the wind back into Papyrus's sails, though, asking, "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus lit up again, and Sans was very happy to see Papyrus so excited. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus turned to Sans again and questioned in his not-so stage whisper, "IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes," Sans supplied in a stage whisper.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL-I'M GONNA-I'LL BE SO…POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" Papyrus paused before clearing his throat. Sans chuckled. Papyrus ignored him. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN…THEN!" Papyrus hesitated. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." Sans snorted as Papyrus didn't let that little detail stop him. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Laughing, Papyrus hurried on ahead. Sans stayed put and watched his brother race off before turning to the human. "Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid." He winked. "I'll keep an eye socket out for ya."

With his last tidbit to the human, Sans turned and followed after his brother till he was out of sight of the human. A surge of magic and Sans was a good distance behind the human, out of sight but close enough to watch. He followed the human, watching as a Snowdrake came and started a fight. Sans found his smile slipping when the battle was started, watching as the controls and HP bar popped up for the human. Again, the sense of _wrong_ washed through him but he ignored it for the most part. During the whole fight, the human never pressed FIGHT. Instead, they made bad ice puns and laughed at the Snowdrake's jokes. Whatever worry Sans had about the human being dangerous was laid to rest. With a smile returning to his face, Sans warped the world around him.

Time seemed to vanish. Sans tailed the kid like he had promised, though he didn't try overly hard to constantly keep the kid in his line of sight; seemed a bit much and way too much effort. He did keep with his brother for the most part till the kid left Snowdin. After that, it turned out the kid didn't need him and Sans backed off, manning his stations or hanging with Papyrus. There were only two times that he met up with the kid purposely. One was when he gave the kid his warning at the too fancy of a restaurant.

The second time was when he Judged the kid.

Thankfully, _thankfully_ , he didn't have to act. The kid was dust free, EXP untouched, and he let the kid be. He teleported away, finding himself shaking, bones rattling. He wrapped his arms around his torso, not understanding the sudden reaction to whatever was going on. He hadn't reacted like this to anything else.

He jumped when his phone rang and he fumbled at it. He let out a sigh, catching the familiar sight of his brother's name. Pressing answer, he held the device to the side of his skull and dutifully answered. "Sup, bro."

"SANS! GET TO THE CASTLE AS QUICK AS YOU CAN! WE HAVE TO AID THE HUMAN!"

Sans smiled already hearing his brother's footfall as the lanky skeleton ran towards him. "Huh. You don't say. Guess it's a good thing I'm already at the castle."

Sans watched as Papyrus skidded to a stop not far from where Sans was out of direct view. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE CASTLE?!" Papyrus asked, staring incredulously at the device in his hand.

Sans stepped out of his spot as he pocketed his phone, shrugging, "Thought I'd catch the sights. It's a beautiful day today."

Papyrus stormed right up to him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along. "YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT ON THE WAY. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE AIDING THE HUMAN!"

Sans couldn't help the grin on his face as his brother released him in order to storm the room ahead. Sans followed, catching his brother's words only due to his brother's natural volume of loud.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE….THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. That was his brother for ya. Other things were said but he missed them as he slid into the room and greeted familiar and not so familiar faces. "Hey guys. What's up?"

The one face he couldn't put his finger on spoke up, though it wasn't overly loud and almost sounded like she had said, "That voice!" The goat monster approached, happily greeting, "Hello, I think we may know each other?"

That alone made the first statement make a whole lot more sense as Sans grinned at her. "Oh hey…I recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel," she offered. "So nice to meet you."

He couldn't help but wink at her. "The name's Sans, and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then…" she turned her attention to Papyrus and Sans's expression became fond. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

"WOWIE…I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Sans chuckled. Only the Great Papyrus. Toriel spoke up again. "Hey, Papyrus…what does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

Sans had to swallow a laugh as Papyrus's sockets narrowed. "HMMM…" the lankier skeleton voiced as he thought. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?"

"No, silly!" Toriel quickly replied. "A skeleton tiles his room with… _shin_ -gles!"

Sans shared a grin with Toriel as Papyrus nearly lost his shit. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

From there it just went from funny to hilariously awkward as Mettaton appeared out of nowhere somewhere in all the chatter and encouraged Alphys and Undyne to kiss. Toriel's reaction was probably his favorite, rushing to be between them and stop it, all in the name of not doing it in front of the kid.

Toriel, ever the warmhearted, turned her attention back onto the human child. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." Sans forced the smile on his face to remain. Oh yeah. They had needed the human's soul to pass through the barrier. "But looking at all the great friends you have made, I think….I think you will be happy here."

The kid beamed at her, at all of them, but Sans couldn't help the disappointment that wafted through him. He tensed, gaze quickly flicking towards the side. He thought he had seen a mass in the shadows but it seemed he was seeing things as Alphys spoke up. "H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus… _you_ called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway…if I got here before you, how did you know how to call everybody?"

Sans honestly hadn't thought about that and glanced at his brother. "LET'S JUST SAY…A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

It was like his magic turned to ice around his bones but the sudden apprehension seemed unwarranted. Alphys's reaction, though, only made the apprehension grow.

"A tiny…flower?" she asked, her voice quaking.

San felt every fiber of his being stand on end at that but he was unable to move as a large vine came through and smacked them all before smaller ones wrapped around each of them and tussled them up, feet off the ground. Pain rippled through him but it wasn't enough to truly distract him from the conversation. A yellow flower popped up between them and the kid, said flower actually speaking. The kid was suddenly trapped and assaulted by bullets from the flower. Sans watched as the kid's health fell down to one measly point before there was suddenly interference. And that interference came from Toriel herself.

"Do not be afraid, my child," she spoke, her voice calm as the pain that had been running through them all stopped with the flower's confusion. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

His brother and Undyne were next to step up to the plate. "THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO: BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"Hey! Human!" Undyne called out with a toothy grin. "If you got past ME, you can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans asked easily, the words flowing without him even needing to think about it. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Others stepped up magically and Alphys spoke up, "Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…b-but…somehow, I know you can do it!"

Sans wasn't quite sure how supportive that was.

"Human," Asgore added, "for the future of humans and monsters…! You have to stay determined…!"

Suddenly the room was filling with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid, and, for the briefest of moments, Sans believed that they actually had a chance of getting out of this. But then the flower called them all stupid, claiming their souls as pain rushed through Sans and the world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

He blinked, finding himself face down on a sheetless mattress. Panic flooded him as he bolted upright. What?! No! They had made it out. They had to have made it out! The kid had destroyed the barrier; they had all seen the light at the end of the cave.

Right?

He warped the world around him, pulling at it in desperation even as he couldn't sort out the memories in his head. It had to have been real. He just accidentally teleported back home. Right?!

He hit the ground on his side, a tangled mess as he shifted an arm to push himself up enough to look at where the exit was.

The barrier was still there.

A sob shook him as his hand met resistance against the barrier. He covered his mouth, eye lights gone tears gathered in his sockets. He crumpled to the floor as he tried to muffle the emotions rolling through him.

This wasn't fair. _This wasn't fair!_ He could not dream a dream like that only to wake up!

Magic exploded from him and the sudden unleash of magic combined with him drowning in emotions startled him enough that no damage was caused to the surrounding architecture. He shuddered, huddling against the barrier as he stared towards the only entrance into the space.

But nobody came.

He pulled at the world around him and returned to his bedroom. There was a dull thud as he missed the mattress and landed on the floor instead. He rubbed his sore shoulder as he moved to the mattress. Teleporting while emotionally compromised was not the wisest thing to do. It left him drained and more exhausted than he already was.

A dream.

He flopped forward onto the mattress, knees still on the floor by his bed. That it had been so real, so absolute; for him to wake up from it hurt the most. That kind of hope was dangerous. And to lose it…

He rubbed his face into the mattress, grateful as parts of the dream faded from his mind.

The sudden pounding at his door made him jump.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans stared at the door in shock. "Five more minutes, Pap," he called out in return, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. The chuckle that left him was almost involuntary. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied, getting up. The smile in his words didn't show on his face. He grabbed whatever was closest and dressed. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Heavy footfall fading away was enough for him to clue where his brother was heading. He stilled as he frowned down at the blue jacket in his hand. He couldn't help but feel as if something was missing at the same time he was experiencing a very odd sense of déjà vu. Deciding to worry about it later, he tugged on a different shirt and cleaner shorts, though cleanliness was more relative in this case. When had he become such a slob?

The scent coming from the kitchen wafted to him as he stepped out of his room, closing his door securely behind him. As he made his way to the kitchen, the déjà vu didn't leave, nor the feeling that something was really missing.

He stopped on the threshold of the kitchen, taking in his brother's back as the taller skeleton tended to something on the stove. He frowned. Was that the only thing his brother wore now?

His frown deepened. Surely it wasn't.

But even as he tried to rack his brain for something else his brother wore, nothing came to mind

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," Sans urged playfully, though there was no honesty to the emotion. It was like he was sprouting lines and that thought alone stopped him in his tracks. Hadn't he used that analogy recently, regardless of its oddity?

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed and Sans was grateful the other was too busy focusing on cooking to notice Sans's sudden mental distraction. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans poked at it with his fork. He frowned, almost expecting a scent to touch him but none came. He grinned at his brother, commenting, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise in his head. Something was missing. Even with it being early in the day he could tell something was off but, no matter how hard he thought about it, nothing came to mind. Just the really weird dream he had last night. He vehemently ignored the dream's ending. No need to dredge that back up.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the bitterness washed over his senses. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, shuddering at the taste. He put his fork down and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noticed that Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place. Sans let that ease his smile bigger. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house only made him feel hollow and the flicker of a faint memory of vertigo made him tense automatically. It was faint but there was a phantom sense of wrong that settled in his soul as he turned to follow his brother. The sensation of his brother's hands securely on his harms made him shudder.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Sans blinked, looking up at Papyrus. He hadn't realized he had come to a stop in the snow. "Yeah, bro," he spoke, his words coming easily and the lie even easier. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him with a soft smile belaying his amusement and fondness. He glanced about, once more getting the phantom sensation of wrong but this one was much fainter than the last time and he easily pushed it away. There was nothing wrong. His dream just messed with him was all.

Sans pulled at the world around him, stepping up to his brother's heel. He stumbled slightly, frowning. Odd. Why had that felt unnatural, like he was doing it wrong? He looked at his hand out of nothing better to frown at. He turned his hand over, racking his brain for anything that could shed a light on this sudden revelation but, as he went searching for information, horror started to settle into his bones. There were massive gaps in not only what he should know about the world around him, but in his memories as well. He had vague impressions of some things but, when he tried to think what he had done in the last few days, all that came back was his dream.

He came to a stop at the bridge as a sense of apathy settled over him, accompanied by déjà vu. It was foreign but welcomed as it stilled the oncoming panic attack. Even if breathing wasn't a thing they needed to do to live, he took a deep, calming breath, grounding himself in the present so as not to tempt another panic attack. He focused back on his brother, spotting the lanky skeleton nearly cross the bridge. With no effort, he brushed the world around him with his magic and, as he took a step, he went from one end of the bridge to the other in the blink of an eye. Papyrus glanced back as his boots touched solid ground but the spent magic had already dissipated and Sans gave him a lazy grin as he continued to follow along. The apathy slowly seeped from him but the panic didn't return, much to Sans's relief.

The canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans greeted them with words that came easily. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans chuckled and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, he let out a sigh and started to trudge down the path. He paused at his station as the strange sense of waking suddenly without knowing how he had gotten there. With a shrug, he continued on passed the oddly shaped lamp. He pulled at the world in increments but found that the walk was rather pleasant.

An interesting structure was barely peaking out of the fog further down the path. Sans's peaked curiosity was enough to take a shortcut closer and he found himself standing beside a ravine that had an old bridge crossing it, a massive wooden structure that looked more like rectangular arches than a gate. He chuckled fondly as he passed underneath. Leave it to his brother to create the most interesting things. How could he have forgotten such a masterpiece done by his brother?

He found himself face to face with a stone door and exhaustion pulled at his bones as he pressed a hand to the structure. Looking about curiously, he picked a high branch and teleported to it, settling down with his back against the trunk and eye sockets sliding shut.

A low rumble of stone grating against stone filled the quiet forest. His gaze automatically drifted to the door set into the wall as his brain worked to wake up from his nap. He watched as a tiny human stepped out. Oh, he knew the figure wasn't a monster. It was very obvious the tiny person was not a monster. But something about the human nagged at him, like he should know who they were.

He slipped from his branch. The world pulled around him, bending and stretching as he teleported so that he landed on the tough-looking branch the kid – it had to be a kid – had walked around as spend magic dissipated quickly; the surprise it seemed to cause in the human was amusing. He fell back a ways before shifting the world around him and returning to a few paces behind the kid. The kid stopped at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them.

He came to a stop just outside of arm's reach, anticipation racing through him like adrenaline. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he states plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The words came easily and tasted familiar. The kid turned around slowly and he shuddered as déjà vu raced through his bones. He reached out, offering his hand to this human that had been labeled a danger by Asgore long before the human had ever fallen.

The kid took his hand.

The whoopee cushion deflated between their palms and Sans's smile broke into a grin. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a confused giggle as Sans tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious." He ignored the déjà vu as the words just tumbled from his mouth. "I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But…y'know…" Sans shrugged, "I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Motion over the kid's head drew Sans's attention briefly and his face lit up. He'd know that silhouette anywhere. "Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He focused back on the kid, catching the tail end of their rotation to see what he was looking at. "I have an idea." The kid looked back at him. "Go through this gate thingy." The kid glanced at the gate, worry marring their expression. Sans nodded. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

It was a breath, a moment that allowed Sans to watch as the kid's worry turned into determination, before the kid turned right around and walked through the massive structure's posts. Sans kept pace with them, following them through to the other side and then some. Surprisingly enough, the oddly-shaped lamp that was always next to his station was suddenly conveniently-shaped and very useful, especially with his brother heading their way. "Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

The kid gave him a smile, trusting his word, and hurried to hide behind the lamp. Just in time, too. Papyrus came striding in like he always did, with a purpose and an air of confidence. It made Sans's smile turn endearing. "Sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP," BROTHER!" Papyrus snapped, his voice at its loudest volume as it always seemed to be in. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp," Sans easily supplied, gesturing lazily at the lamp the kid had hid behind. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus shouted, stomping his foot. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shifted his stance, a hand on his hip, a hand on his chest, and somehow his cape billowing dramatically behind him. Sans snorted on a laugh. His brother was the best. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm," Sans offered, "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans shrugged, a mischievous half grin on his face. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a _ton_ of work done today." He winked. "A skele- _ton_."

Papyrus bristled. "SANS!"

"Come on. You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans could not help himself. He felt his grin grow as he commented, "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…down to the bone."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, _BACKBONE_ INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sans chuckled right along with his brother, so proud. Papyrus made his exit with that laugh and Sans's chuckles died with the taller skeleton's exit. He waited, watching Papyrus turn around briefly and give a final, "Heh!" before fully leaving. Once he was sure his brother was fully gone, he shifted his weight and his head to look at the lamp. "Ok, you can come out now."

The kid came out from behind the lamp and walked right up to him, grinning. Sans chuckled. "You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does," Sans winked, "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." The kid beamed and the words flowed freely from Sans. "What's the holdup? Look, there's nothing to be afraid of." He winked. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters." The kid giggled and Sans couldn't help but arch an eye ridge at them. "Well?"

The kid looked up at him and nodded, determination and glee on their face. With a wave goodbye, the kid was off, and Sans gave a huff of a laugh. The kid was definitely something else.

"Actually, hey," he called out without prompting. The kid stopped, turning to look at him with an almost expectant expression. "Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking, my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."

The human quickly nodded in agreement, giving Sans a thumbs up. Sans shifted his weight lazily. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead."

Sans waved goodbye and headed back to the bridge only to pull at the world and step up behind Papyrus.

"Hey, bro," Sans called out, gaining his brother's attention.

"SANS!" Papyrus commented, partially annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT AT YOUR POST?"

Sans shrugged, smiling. "Aw, come on, bro. Our conversation conveniently reminded me you never finished your tale from earlier. The one about Undyne."

"HONESTLY?" Sans nodded. Papyrus's face lit up. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE–"

Movement from the path leading to the sentry station drew Papyrus's attention, cutting his story off. Sans watched Papyrus, already knowing who was approaching. The kid's footfall was pretty unique. Sans looked to the kid when Papyrus looked back at him and looked to Papyrus when his brother returned his gaze to the human. They did this probably eight or nine times till they were spinning around, coming to a stop facing the human. Sans was trying very hard not to fall over as the world kept spinning. The fact that he was trying not to laugh wasn't helping. Papyrus quickly spun Sans around the other way, rushing in what was as close to a stage whisper as Papyrus got, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…A HUMAN!?"

They turned back around and Sans, out of habit, couldn't help but mess with his brother. "Uhhhh...Actually, I think that's a rock."

Papyrus deflated. "OH."

Sans was quick to bring the wind back into Papyrus's sails, though, asking, "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus lit up again, and Sans was very happy to see Papyrus so excited. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus turned to Sans again and questioned in his not-so stage whisper, "IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes," Sans supplied in a stage whisper.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL-I'M GONNA-I'LL BE SO…POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" Papyrus paused before clearing his throat. Sans chuckled. Papyrus ignored him. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN…THEN!" Papyrus hesitated. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." Sans snorted as Papyrus didn't let that little detail stop him. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Laughing, Papyrus hurried on ahead. Sans stayed put and watched his brother race off before turning to the human. "Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid." He winked. "I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya."

With his last tidbit to the human, Sans turned and followed after his brother till he was out of sight of the human. A surge of magic and Sans was a good distance behind the human, out of sight but close enough to watch. He followed the human, watching as a Snowdrake came and started a fight. He watched as the battle started, the controls popping up for the human. During the whole fight, the human never pressed FIGHT. Instead, they made bad ice puns and laughed at the Snowdrake's jokes. Whatever concern Sans may have had about the human's wellbeing was laid to rest. Sans warped the world around him.

Time seemed to vanish. Sans kept with his brother for the most part till the kid left Snowdin. It was fun watching his brother's reaction to the human. After that, Sans sporadically tailed the kid, manning his stations or hanging with Papyrus if he lost the kid for a bit. He found it was easiest to just be at his stations. There were only two times that he went out of his way to be with the kid. One was when he gave the kid his warning at the too fancy of a restaurant.

The second time was when he Judged the kid.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't have to act. The kid was dust free, EXP untouched, and he grinned at the kid, oddly proud. He teleported away, feeling mildly odd. Strange. Why did it feel like something was missing?

His phone rang and he pulled it out, catching his brother's name. Pressing answer, he held the device to the side of his skull and dutifully answered. "Sup, bro."

"SANS! GET TO THE CASTLE AS QUICK AS YOU CAN! WE HAVE TO AID THE HUMAN!"

Sans smiled already hearing his brother's footfall as the lanky skeleton ran towards him. "Huh. You don't say. Guess it's a good thing I'm already at the castle."

Sans watched as Papyrus skidded to a stop not far from where Sans was out of direct view. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE CASTLE?!" Papyrus asked, staring incredulously at the device in his hand.

Sans stepped out of his spot as he pocketed his phone, shrugging, "Thought I'd catch the sights. It's a beautiful day today."

Papyrus stormed right up to him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along. "YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT ON THE WAY. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE AIDING THE HUMAN!"

Sans couldn't help the grin on his face as his brother released him in order to storm the room ahead. Sans followed, catching his brother's words only due to his brother's natural volume of loud.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE….THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. That was his brother for ya. Other things were said but he missed them as he slid into the room and greeted familiar and not so familiar faces. "Hey guys. What's up?"

The one face he couldn't put his finger on spoke up, though it wasn't overly loud and almost sounded like she had said, "That voice!" The goat monster approached, happily greeting, "Hello, I think we may know each other?"

That alone made the first statement make a whole lot more sense as Sans grinned at her. "Oh hey…I recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel," she offered. "So nice to meet you."

He couldn't help but wink at her. "The name's Sans, and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then…" she turned her attention to Papyrus and Sans's expression became fond. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

"WOWIE…I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Sans chuckled. Only the Great Papyrus. Toriel spoke up again. "Hey, Papyrus…what does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

Sans had to swallow a laugh, anticipation rolling through him, as Papyrus's sockets narrowed. "HMMM…" the lankier skeleton voiced as he thought. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?"

"No, silly!" Toriel quickly replied. "A skeleton tiles his room with… _shin_ -gles!"

Sans shared a grin with Toriel as Papyrus nearly lost his shit. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

From there it just went from funny to hilariously awkward as Mettaton appeared out of nowhere somewhere in all the chatter and encouraged Alphys and Undyne to kiss. Toriel's reaction was probably his favorite, rushing to be between them and stop it, all in the name of not doing it in front of the kid.

Toriel, ever the warmhearted, turned her attention back onto the human child. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." Sans found it surprisingly easy to keep the smile on his face. Oh yeah. They had needed the human's soul to break through the barrier. "But looking at all the great friends you have made, I think….I think you will be happy here."

The kid beamed at her, at all of them and Sans merely gave a grin back. He tensed, suddenly on guard as Alphys spoke up. "H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus… _you_ called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway…if I got here before you, how did you know how to call everybody?"

Sans glanced at his brother, trying really hard not to reach out like he wanted to. What in the world was causing him to suddenly be expecting an attack? "LET'S JUST SAY…A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

It was like his magic turned to ice around his bones but the sudden dread seemed unwarranted. Alphys's reaction, though, only made the dread grow.

"A tiny…flower?" she asked, her voice quaking.

San felt every fiber of his being stand on end at that but he was unable to move as a large vine came through and smacked them all before smaller ones wrapped around each of them and tussled them up, feet off the ground. Pain rippled through him but it wasn't enough to truly distract him from the conversation. A yellow flower popped up between them and the kid, said flower actually speaking. The kid was suddenly trapped and assaulted by bullets from the flower. Sans watched as the kid's health fell down to one measly point before there was suddenly interference. And that interference came from Toriel herself.

"Do not be afraid, my child," she spoke, her voice calm as the pain that had been running through them all stopped with the flower's confusion. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

His brother and Undyne were next to step up to the plate. "THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO: BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"Hey! Human!" Undyne called out with a toothy grin. "If you got past ME, you can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans asked, the words flowing without a thought to them. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Others stepped up magically and Alphys spoke up, "Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…b-but…somehow, I know you can do it!"

Sans was tempted to roll his eyes good naturedly at her not very supportive comment.

"Human," Asgore added, "for the future of humans and monsters…! You have to stay determined…!"

Suddenly the room was filling with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid, and, for the briefest of moments, Hope warred against the dread still grasping at Sans's soul. A part of him knew it was pointless to Hope. Things were only going to get worse instead of better. Sure enough, the flower called them all stupid, claiming their souls as pain rushed through Sans and the world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

Sans let out a groan, startled yet somehow not surprised to find himself face down on a sheetless mattress. The familiar panic flooded his system but he pushed it down as he shoved at the mattress, gaze snapping around the room. This was all too familiar to be a coincident. His supposed "dream" was too crisp for it to be a mere "dream", especially now that he could distinctly recall waking up the same way from a very similar "dream" already.

He frowned and pulled at the world around him. He staggered on his sock covered feet, not quite awake enough to handle the sudden change in position mid shortcut, but at least he didn't end up on his face.

The barrier was still there.

Grief washed through him but this time no sobs ripped themselves from his chest as he took in the barrier. His knees gave out as he touched it, the grief he was feeling almost nothing compared to the phantom grief he could feel echoing it. He looked about but there seemed to be no evidence to what Sans had been experiencing. Feeling exhausted, Sans teleported back to his room.

He rummaged through the belongings in his room, looking for anything that could be of use. He found a small notebook buried underneath a mound of clothing and he sneered at the mess. When had he become such a slob? He flipped through the pages. All but the first few were blank and what covered the first pages looked to be complicated notes. He frowned down at the equations scrawled across the paper. It looked like high level math and there were notes scrawled in the margins and the rest of the page around any math that appeared. From what he gathered, it looked like some sort of science. Most likely theoretical but he wasn't sure how much of that was just him pulling answers out of thin air. Maybe if there was a workspace of some kind-

Sudden pounding at his door made him jump.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans blinked at the door. "Five more minutes, Pap," he called out, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. The chuckle that left him was involuntary. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied. The smile in his words didn't show on his face as he dressed. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Heavy footfall fading away informed him his brother wasn't hovering. He stilled as he frowned down at the blue jacket in his hand. Déjà vu was probably the closest thing he could put towards what he was feeling but it wasn't quite right. The "dream" wasn't fading and seemed to only increase his remembrance of the previous "dream". He needed time to write all this down. Shoving the notebook into a pocket of the blue jacket, he frowned at the shorts he was about to tug on. Cleanliness was certainly a relative term in the case of his clothing.

The scent coming from the kitchen wafted to him as he stepped out of his room, closing his door securely behind him out of apparent habit.

He stopped on the threshold of the kitchen as if anticipating something, but, seeing as he remembered his "dreams" and that these "dreams" were too much like the present, the only thing he was anticipating were his brother's words.

He briefly noted his brother's attire, the same outfit he had seen at least twice now.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have." The words were playful and urging but they lacked any real thought to them. He hadn't even been able to recall his response till the words had left him. He was starting to question his own sanity, even as he could have parroted Papyrus's next words.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans poked at it with his fork. Yep, same as last time. It even looked the same. He mentally groaned. This was weird. He grinned at his brother nonetheless and commented, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise in his head. He discretely touched the notebook in his pocket, wondering if what he had in mind would even work. If he kept "waking up", would that mean that what he wrote would be erased? Or was he in some sort of temporal loop and the notebook would be dragged along with him?

He shuddered, grateful when it seemed Papyrus hadn't noticed. If he was in a temporal loop and what he was experiencing was a sort of resetting, he needed to figure out why it was resetting to him waking up face down in a sheetless mattress.

He also needed to figure out when he became such the scientist but that was a low priority. If the notebook was anything to go by, he's had some dealings in science for quite some time, meaning he may have a workspace. He just had to find it.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the familiar bitterness washed over his senses. It somehow seemed less revolting than the last time. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, still shuddering at the taste. He put his fork down and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noted that Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place. His smile grew bigger on its own. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house, Sans took the moment to look towards the underground's ceiling. There was still a sense of claustrophobia scraping at his soul but this was the first time in two resets he had looked up so he may just be getting used to the ceiling seeming closer than normal.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

Sans blinked, looking up at Papyrus. "Yeah, bro," he spoke, his words coming easily and the lie even easier. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him with a soft smile belaying his amusement and fondness. Despite it all, his brother's reactions were a familiarity he hoped would never change, even if the jokes were the same, horrible taste.

He came to a stop at the bridge as mild weariness pulled at him. Aw, so that would explain the apathy last run. Apparently, he didn't have much stamina and, while he hadn't used as much magic as the last run, physical action seemed to be just as draining as emotional turmoil. Great. Another thing to add to his list of things to keep in mind. He focused back on his brother, spotting the lanky skeleton almost at the other end of the bridge. With no effort, he brushed the world around him with his magic and, as he took a step, he went from one end of the bridge to the other in the blink of an eye. Papyrus glanced back as his boots touched solid ground but the spent magic had already dissipated and Sans gave him a lazy grin as he continued to follow along. The weariness didn't leave and, while Sans had every intent of spending what little time he had before the human showed up – if his growing suspicion that this was a temporal loop was true – he may end up napping without his own consent.

The canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans greeted them with words that came easily. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans chuckled and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, a stronger wave of weariness rushed his bones. He leaned heavily on his station, taking the moment to collect himself and push through the very strong urge to sleep. He had things to do and very little time to do it in.

Pulling at the world around him once more, he landed on a high branch and settled down with his back against the trunk. He didn't even get a chance to touch the notebook as sleep overtook him.

A low rumble of stone grating against stone filled the quiet forest. His gaze automatically drifted to the door set into the wall as his brain worked to wake up from his inconvenient nap. He watched as the human stepped out. Despite having a hunch that he was in a temporal loop, he could not remember the kid's name or their face.

He slipped from his branch. The world shifted around him, bending and stretching as he teleported so that he landed on the tough-looking branch the kid had walked around as spend magic dissipated quickly; the surprise it seemed to entice – whether out of anticipation or true surprise – was still amusing. He fell back a ways before shifting the world around him and returning to a few paces behind the kid. The kid stopped at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them.

He came to a stop just outside of arm's reach, anticipation racing through him like adrenaline. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he states plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The words came easily. The kid turned around slowly but it was clear that the kid wanted to just whip around and take his hand. He reached out, offering his hand to this human that had been labeled a danger by Asgore long before the human had ever fallen.

The kid took his hand.

The whoopee cushion deflated between their palms and Sans's smile broke into a grin. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a happy little giggle as Sans tucked his hand back into his pocket. "Anyways, you're a human, right? That's hilarious. I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton. I'm actually supposed to be on watch for humans right now. But…y'know…" Sans shrugged, "I don't really care about capturing anybody. Now my brother, Papyrus, he's a human-hunting FANATIC." Motion over the kid's head drew Sans's attention briefly and his face lit up. He'd know that silhouette anywhere and would always be glad to see it. "Hey, actually, I think that's him over there." He focused back on the kid, catching the tail end of their rotation to see what he was looking at. "I have an idea." The kid looked back at him. "Go through this gate thingy." The kid glanced at the gate, at ease. Sans nodded. "Yeah, go right through. My bro made the bars too wide to stop anyone."

The kid turned right around and walked through the massive structure's posts. Sans kept pace with them, following them through to the other side and then some. The conveniently-shaped lamp was still by his station, awaiting to be useful. "Quick, behind that conveniently-shaped lamp."

The kid gave him a smile and hurried to hide behind the lamp. Just in time, too. Papyrus came striding in like he always did, with a purpose and an air of confidence. It made Sans's smile turn endearing. "Sup, bro?"

"YOU KNOW WHAT "SUP," BROTHER!" Papyrus snapped, his voice at its loudest volume as it always seemed to be in. "IT'S BEEN EIGHT DAYS AND YOU STILL HAVEN'T RECALIBRATED. YOUR. PUZZLES! YOU JUST HANG AROUND OUTSIDE YOUR STATION! WHAT ARE YOU EVEN DOING?!"

"Staring at this lamp," Sans easily supplied, gesturing lazily at the lamp the kid had hid behind. He caught the soft sound of giggles. "It's really cool. Do you wanna look?"

"NO! I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THAT!" Papyrus shouted, stomping his foot. "WHAT IF A HUMAN COMES THROUGH HERE!? I WANT TO BE READY! I WILL BE THE ONE! I MUST BE THE ONE! I WILL CAPTURE A HUMAN!" Papyrus shifted his stance, a hand on his hip, a hand on his chest, and somehow his cape billowing dramatically behind him. Sans snorted on a laugh. His brother was the best. "THEN, I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL GET ALL THE THINGS I UTTERLY DESERVE! RESPECT…RECOGNITION…I WILL FINALLY BE ABLE TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD! PEOPLE WILL ASK, TO, BE MY, "FRIEND?" I WILL BATHE IN A SHOWER OF KISSES EVERY MORNING."

"Hmm," Sans offered, "maybe this lamp will help you."

"SANS! YOU ARE NOT HELPING!" Papyrus stomped his foot. "YOU LAZYBONES! ALL YOU DO IS SIT AND BOONDOGGLE! YOU GET LAZIER AND LAZIER EVERY DAY!"

Sans shrugged, a mischievous half grin on his face. "Hey, take it easy. I've gotten a _ton_ of work done today." He winked. "A skele- _ton_."

Papyrus bristled as another soft round of giggles came from behind the lamp. "SANS!"

"Come on. You're smiling."

"I AM AND I HATE IT!" Papyrus admitted. He sighed. "WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO DO SO MUCH JUST TO GET SOME RECOGNITION…"

Sans could not help himself. He felt his grin grow as he commented, "Wow, sounds like you're really working yourself…down to the bone."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "UGH! I WILL ATTEND TO MY PUZZLES. AS FOR YOUR WORK? PUT A LITTLE MORE, _BACKBONE_ INTO IT! NYEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHEHE!"

Sans chuckled right along with his brother, so proud. Papyrus made his exit with that laugh and Sans's chuckles died with the taller skeleton's exit. He waited, watching Papyrus turn around briefly and give a final, "Heh!" before fully leaving. Once he was sure his brother was fully gone, he shifted his weight and his head to look at the lamp, spotting the kid peaking out at him. "Ok, you can come out now."

The kid came bounding out from behind the lamp and right up to him, grinning. Sans chuckled. "You oughta get going. He might come back. And if he does," Sans winked, "you'll have to sit through more of my hilarious jokes." The kid beamed and the words flowed freely from Sans. "What's the holdup? Look, there's nothing to be afraid of." He winked. "It's just a dark cavern filled with skeletons and horrible monsters." The kid giggled and Sans couldn't help but arch an eye ridge at them. "Well?"

The kid looked up at him and nodded, determination and glee on their face. With a wave goodbye, the kid was off, and Sans gave a huff of a laugh. The kid was definitely something else.

"Actually, hey," he called out without prompting. The kid stopped, turning to look at him with an almost expectant expression. "Hate to bother ya, but can you do me a favor? I was thinking, my brother's been kind of down lately. He's never seen a human before, and seeing you might just make his day. Don't worry, he's not dangerous, even if he tries to be."

The human quickly nodded in agreement, giving Sans a thumbs up. Sans shifted his weight lazily. "Thanks a million. I'll be up ahead."

Sans waved goodbye and headed back to the bridge only to pull at the world and step up behind Papyrus.

"Hey, bro," Sans called out, gaining his brother's attention.

"SANS!" Papyrus commented, partially annoyed. "WHY ARE YOU NOT AT YOUR POST?"

Sans shrugged, smiling. "Aw, come on, bro. Our conversation conveniently reminded me you never finished your tale from earlier. The one about Undyne."

"HONESTLY?" Sans nodded. Papyrus's face lit up. "SO, AS I WAS SAYING ABOUT UNDYNE–"

Movement from the path leading to the sentry station drew Papyrus's attention, cutting his story off. Sans watched Papyrus as the kid approached. Sans looked to the kid when Papyrus looked back at him and looked to Papyrus when his brother returned his gaze to the human. They did this probably eight or nine times till they were spinning around, coming to a stop facing the human. Sans was trying very hard not to fall over as the world kept spinning. The fact that he was trying not to laugh wasn't helping. Papyrus quickly spun Sans around the other way, rushing in what was as close to a stage whisper as Papyrus got, "SANS! OH MY GOD! IS THAT…A HUMAN!?"

They turned back around and Sans, out of habit, couldn't help but mess with his brother. "Uhhhh...Actually, I think that's a rock."

Papyrus deflated. "OH."

Sans was quick to bring the wind back into Papyrus's sails, asking, "Hey, what's that in front of the rock?"

Papyrus lit up again, and Sans was very happy to see Papyrus so excited. "OH MY GOD!" Papyrus turned to Sans again and questioned in his not-so stage whisper, "IS…IS THAT A HUMAN?"

"Yes," Sans returned.

"OH MY GOD! SANS! I FINALLY DID IT! UNDYNE WILL-I'M GONNA-I'LL BE SO…POPULAR! POPULAR! POPULAR!" Papyrus paused before clearing his throat. Sans chuckled. Papyrus ignored him. "HUMAN! YOU SHALL NOT PASS THIS AREA! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL STOP YOU! I WILL THEN CAPTURE YOU! YOU WILL BE DELIVERED TO THE CAPITAL! THEN…THEN!" Papyrus hesitated. "I'M NOT SURE WHAT'S NEXT." Sans snorted as Papyrus didn't let that little detail stop him. "IN ANY CASE! CONTINUE. ONLY IF YOU DARE! NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

Laughing, Papyrus hurried on ahead. Sans stayed put and watched his brother run off before turning to the human. "Well, that went well. Don't sweat it, kid." He winked. "I'll keep an eyesocket out for ya."

With his last tidbit to the human, Sans turned and followed after his brother till he was out of sight of the human. A surge of magic and Sans was a good distance behind the human, out of sight but close enough to watch. He followed the human, watching as a Snowdrake came and started a fight. He watched as the battle started, the controls popping up for the human. During the whole fight, the human never pressed FIGHT. Instead, they made bad ice puns and laughed at the Snowdrake's jokes. Whatever concern Sans may have had about the human's wellbeing was laid to rest. Sans warped the world around him.

Time seemed to vanish. Sans kept with his brother for the most part till the kid left Snowdin. It was fun watching his brother's reaction to the human. After that, Sans sporadically tailed the kid, manning his stations or hanging with Papyrus if he lost the kid for a bit. He found it was easiest to just be at his stations. There were only two times that he went out of his way to be with the kid. One was when he gave the kid his warning at the too fancy of a restaurant.

The second time was when he Judged the kid.

Unsurprisingly, he didn't have to act. The kid was dust free, EXP untouched, and he grinned at the kid, oddly proud. He teleported away, feeling mildly odd. Strange. Why did it feel like something was missing?

His phone rang and he pulled it out, catching his brother's name. Pressing answer, he held the device to the side of his skull and dutifully answered. "Sup, bro."

"SANS! GET TO THE CASTLE AS QUICK AS YOU CAN! WE HAVE TO AID THE HUMAN!"

Sans smiled, already hearing his brother's footfall as the lanky skeleton ran towards him. "Huh. You don't say. Guess it's a good thing I'm already at the castle."

Sans watched as Papyrus skidded to a stop not far from where Sans was out of direct view. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT THE CASTLE?!" Papyrus asked, staring incredulously at the device in his hand.

Sans stepped out of his spot as he pocketed his phone, shrugging, "Thought I'd catch the sights. It's a beautiful day today."

Papyrus stormed right up to him and grabbed him by the arm, dragging him along. "YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT IT ON THE WAY. WE DO NOT WANT TO BE LATE AIDING THE HUMAN!"

Sans couldn't help the grin on his face as his brother released him in order to storm the room ahead. Sans followed, catching his brother's words only due to his brother's natural volume of loud.

"HEY! NOBODY FIGHT ANYONE! IF ANYONE FIGHTS ANYONE….THEN I'LL! BE FORCED! TO ASK UNDYNE FOR HELP!"

Sans chuckled, shaking his head. That was his brother for ya. Other things were said but he missed them as he slid into the room and greeted familiar and not so familiar faces. "Hey guys. What's up?"

The one face he couldn't put his finger on spoke up, though it wasn't overly loud and almost sounded like she had said, "That voice!" The goat monster approached, happily greeting, "Hello, I think we may know each other?"

That alone made the first statement make a whole lot more sense as Sans grinned at her. "Oh hey…I recognize your voice, too."

"I am Toriel," she offered. "So nice to meet you."

He couldn't help but wink at her. "The name's Sans, and, uh, same."

"Oh! Wait, then…" she turned her attention to Papyrus and Sans's expression became fond. "This must be your brother, Papyrus! Greetings, Papyrus! It is so nice to finally meet you. Your brother has told me so much about you."

"WOWIE…I CAN'T BELIEVE ASGORE'S CLONE KNOWS WHO I AM! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

Sans chuckled. Only the Great Papyrus. Toriel spoke up again. "Hey, Papyrus…what does a skeleton tile his roof with?"

Sans had to swallow a laugh, anticipation rolling through him, as Papyrus's sockets narrowed. "HMMM…" the lankier skeleton voiced as he thought. "SNOW-PROOF ROOF TILES?"

"No, silly!" Toriel quickly replied. "A skeleton tiles his room with… _shin_ -gles!"

Sans shared a grin with Toriel as Papyrus nearly lost his shit. "I CHANGED MY MIND! THIS IS THE WORST DAY OF MY LIFE!"

From there it just went from funny to hilariously awkward as Mettaton appeared out of nowhere somewhere in all the chatter and encouraged Alphys and Undyne to kiss. Toriel's reaction was probably his favorite, rushing to be between them and stop it, all in the name of not doing it in front of the kid.

Toriel, ever the warmhearted, turned her attention back onto the human child. "My child, it seems as if you must stay here for a while." Sans found it surprisingly easy to keep the smile on his face. Oh yeah. They had needed the human's soul to break through the barrier. "But looking at all the great friends you have made, I think….I think you will be happy here."

The kid beamed at her, at all of them and Sans merely gave a grin back. He tensed, suddenly on guard as Alphys spoke up. "H-hey, that reminds me. Papyrus… _you_ called everyone here, right? Well, besides, uh, her. Uh, anyway…if I got here before you, how did you know how to call everybody?"

Sans glanced at his brother, trying really hard not to reach out like he wanted to. What in the world was causing him to suddenly be expecting an attack? "LET'S JUST SAY…A TINY FLOWER HELPED ME."

It was like his magic turned to ice around his bones but the sudden dread seemed unwarranted. Alphys's reaction, though, only made the dread grow.

"A tiny…flower?" she asked, her voice quaking.

San felt every fiber of his being stand on end at that but he was unable to move as a large vine came through and smacked them all before smaller ones wrapped around each of them and tussled them up, feet off the ground. Pain rippled through him but it wasn't enough to truly distract him from the conversation. A yellow flower popped up between them and the kid, said flower actually speaking. The kid was then trapped and assaulted by bullets from the flower. Sans watched as the kid's health fell down to one measly point before there was suddenly interference. And that interference came from Toriel herself.

"Do not be afraid, my child," she spoke, her voice calm as the pain that had been running through them all stopped with the flower's confusion. "No matter what happens, we will always be there to protect you!"

His brother and Undyne were next to step up to the plate. "THAT'S RIGHT, HUMAN! YOU CAN WIN! JUST DO WHAT I WOULD DO: BELIEVE IN YOU!"

"Hey! Human!" Undyne called out with a toothy grin. "If you got past ME, you can do ANYTHING! So don't worry! We're with you all the way!"

"Huh? You haven't beaten this guy yet?" Sans asked, the words flowing without a thought to them. "Come on, this weirdo's got nothin' on you."

Others stepped up magically and Alphys spoke up, "Technically, it's impossible for you to beat him…b-but…somehow, I know you can do it!"

Sans was tempted to roll his eyes good naturedly at her not very supportive comment.

"Human," Asgore added, "for the future of humans and monsters…! You have to stay determined…!"

Suddenly the room was filling with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid, and, for the briefest of moments, Hope warred against the dread still grasping at Sans's soul. A part of him knew it was pointless to Hope. Things were only going to get worse instead of better. Sure enough, the flower called them all stupid, claiming their souls as pain rushed through Sans and the world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

Sans wanted to tear the mattress beneath him to shreds.

* * *

Tumblr: undertaleau-othertale


	2. Part 1: Undertale Chapter 2

**Part 1: Undertale**

 _Chapter 2_

The tears stung but he swallowed hard against the grief drowning him. He shoved at his bed, pushing down on the anger, frustration, _the grief_ , with all he had so that he could think. He had to think. He didn't have time. He couldn't waste the precious few minutes he had before Papyrus showed up to wake him.

Grabbing the too bright blue fabric of the jacket, he dug into the pocket and nearly sobbed when his hunting fingers closed around the notebook. He pressed it close to his chest, the fabric of the coat holding against his unrelenting grip. Good. No, this was really good. It meant there was a high probability that whatever he shoved into the pockets would remain outside the timeline like he was.

The cover of the notebook crunched slightly as his grip tightened. The only way to prove that, though, was to write on the pages within and that meant he needed something to write with.

He got up. The coat fell onto the mattress but the notebook was kept pinned under a hand against his chest. He threw things all over the place, not caring in the slightest where it all fell till a thought occurred to him, slowing his movement briefly.

It would be a test, a rather good test in fact, if he changed his room as best he could. Suddenly determined, he strategically threw items towards the walls and his bed, clearing the center of the floor. Along the way, he found a key sitting next to the only pen he found to work. He tucked the key into one of the coat's pockets without much thought, sitting on the edge of the mattress with pen in one hand, the notebook in the other.

The book fell open to the last page with writing on it. There was still room to write and, without knowing how much would change if the world reset again, he used the paper sparingly. 

**reset 3(r3) – viable evidence trapped in temporal loop (here's to hoping this is trapped with me)  
third(?) wake up facedown/mattress after barrier breaks(?) – no memory actually seeing broken barrier – wake up location consistent, at least  
keep to short hand as best as possible – no time  
no signs of others remembering reset to reset yet  
unknown amount of influence on loop – will pap remember if told  
room set for reset test  
FIND SPACE THAT RE**

Sudden pounding on his door made him jump, striking a heavy line of ink across the page.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he called out, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he was not feeling. Counter to his tone, a frown marred his face as he quickly finished scrawling: 

**FIND SPACE THAT REMAINS SAME**

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. The chuckle that left him was involuntary but not unwelcomed. It eased some of the tension he was feeling. "TIME TO GET UP!"

The words were there, ready to be spoken without a thought, but a spark of spontaneity hit him, as did the need to know if he could even go against the "script" laid out before him. "Thanks Pap," he replied, the words endearing. He had to focus but it seemed possible as he added, "I'm getting up."

"HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

There was no need to listen to his brother's footfall as Sans looked back at the notebook in hand. 

**script changeable but takes effort – does not seem to affect the script of others – need to test more**

He tapped the pen against the edge of the book. He was going to have to be careful. If he wanted to figure out how to get out of this, he was going to have to find anomalies. But if he broke the script, it would only add to the amount of anomalies there. Additionally, he didn't actually know the script. He knew roughly the general idea – though it was all pretty vague and anything that he had remembered from the last timeline had already hazed over like a dream – but not knowing the script intricately meant that he could miss things.

Magic turned to ice on his bones. If he had had hair, it would have stood on end. Out of the corner of his eye, in the corner of his room, was a figure dressed in black with an odd black and white face watching him. It was fuzzy, unfocused, and all he could make out was the vague shape of head and body. Snapping his gaze to the spot, his nonexistent insides twisted.

The corner was bare. There was no one there, nothing to cause a trick of the eye, no way anyone could have just been standing there so straight and still without tripping over the mount of things in that given corner. Panic and adrenaline rushed through his system, causing his body to react in a way that was disconcerting.

Especially since he could no longer remember what it was that had caused the reaction.

Turning back to the journal, he rushed a quick line: 

**something in northeast corner – scared me – nothing there when focused on – can't recall what i thought i had seen**

He shoved the notebook into the designated coat pocket, pen acting like a bookmark. He yanked the same cloths on automatically and stepped outside his room.

The scent coming from the kitchen wafted up to him as he closed his door securely behind him. He let out a soft sigh, already tired. If this wasn't a reset and all of that had just been the strangest dream in his life, he would not be complaining.

A very large part of him didn't hold any hope to that thought.

He stopped on the threshold of the kitchen, leaning against the doorframe as he looked the space over. It all looked the same. Papyrus was still wearing his battle body and making spaghetti like the last runs. He couldn't remember if anything was in a different place but figured it would come with time if he was truly stuck in a temporal loop. He hoped not.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

He had to bite back the words of the script before he was able to answer his own way. "I'm not hungry," he said, watching Papyrus closely. "I was thinking of just heading out."

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

There had been no reaction to the new words, no disappointment, no relief, no nothing. It was like the words he had spoken hadn't even affected the script. Now, granted, his words had indeed allowed that answer to pass, but it was still a rather conclusive test. He sat down at the table, resting his chin on his palm. "Watermelon sock puppets," he tried in lieu of acknowledging Papyrus's words.

Yep. Not even a twitch as Papyrus put the plate of spaghetti before him. Sans poked at it with his fork. Still the same, for all he could tell. Weariness coursed through him and he grinned at his brother as he fell back into the script without a fight, commenting, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something but it was nothing more than background noise. His mind wandered, most of his thoughts sticking to the resets and what could possibly be causing them. A headache started to pulse behind his left eye but he ignored it to the best of his abilities. He wasn't a scientist. He didn't know how to even begin to deal with an anomaly when he found one. If he found one.

His fingers brushed the notebook in his pocket. Actually, that may not be totally accurate. If the book was indeed his as the handwriting made it seem, he had some rather intense know-how when it came to science in some aspect. May not be in whatever field was required to deal with time anomalies, but at least it would be a start.

He wondered briefly if he had a lab and if it was outside the resets like the coat pockets were.

He hadn't realized he had been eating till he took another bite and the familiar bitterness washed over his senses. It had lost some of its revulsion, to which Sans was immensely grateful for. He swallowed the bite he had been consuming, able to suppress the shudder this time. He put his fork down and keyed into the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Sans noted that Papyrus hadn't touched his own plate much. Sans's smile grew bigger at that. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house, Sans took the moment to look towards the underground's ceiling. Claustrophobia scraped at his soul but he found it rather easy to ignore.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ALRIGHT?"

Sans blinked, looking up at Papyrus. It would seem that the morning had worn him out more than he had thought. He made a mental note not to go against the script like that till he was able to nap directly afterwards. The exhaustion clinging to his bones made his limbs feel ten times heavier. "Yeah bro," he spoke, the words flowing easily. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at that and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him with a soft smile belaying his amusement and fondness. Despite it all, his brother's reactions were a familiarity he hoped would never change, even if the jokes were the same, horrible taste.

As had happened in the previous resets, Papyrus glanced back at him briefly at the end of the bridge and the canine royal guards greeted them as they passed. Sans went with the script, greeting them with some predestined acknowledgment. When they reached the last puzzle – or the first, depending on the direction one traveled in – Sans looked to his brother, offering, "I'll trek ahead and check on my post."

"DON'T DILLY DALLY, SANS! WE HAVE A LOT OF WORK TO DO!"

Sans smiled gently and pulled at the world around him when Papyrus wasn't looking. As used magic drifted away and dissipated, black swam at the edge of his vision, forcing him to either lean heavily on his station or face plant into the snow. He chose the one that kept snow out of his sockets.

The spell lasted only a moment and Sans was soon able to straighten up and pull at the world once more. He settled on a familiar high branch with his back against the trunk without much movement on his part. He let out a sigh that sounded more like a groan and he succumbed to sleep without a fight.

A low rumble of stone grating against stone filled the quiet forest. His gaze automatically drifted to the door set into the wall as his brain worked to wake up from his nap, still exhausted. He watched as the kid stepped out.

He frowned. Did the kid look more scared than last time?

He slipped from his branch and landed on the tough-looking branch the kid always walked around as spent magic dissipated quickly. The kid's reaction seemed a bit more spooked than normal but he fell back anyways, letting the script guide his actions.

The kid came to a stop at the bridge and Sans slowly strolled up behind them, taking his time to come just out of arm's reach of the kid. An amused smirk pulled at his smile. "Human," he stated plainly, slowly. "Don't you know how to greet a new pal? Turn around and shake my hand."

The kid turned around slowly. Nope, yep, there was definitely more fear than last time coming off the kid. He was not making it up. Well, he was pretty certain at least. If nothing else, it meant that the kid either was out of the loop like Sans was or was the anomaly. Sans internally snorted at the latter. How could a kid be a temporal anomaly?

The kid took his hand, deflating the whoopee cushion Sans couldn't recall putting on his palm. The smile on his face broke out into a grin nonetheless. "Heheh. The old whoopee cushion in the hand trick. It's ALWAYS funny." The kid gave a happy little giggle and Sans lost whatever it was he had been thinking about.

His welcoming speech went as it normally did with nothing new happening. In fact, nothing new happened from when he met the kid to when the kid left Snowdin for Waterfall. He did discover a nifty little tidbit by pure accident.

Sans manned both his station and the telescope as he normally did as the kid traversed Wasterfall. But during a lull between stations, he got caught up staring at the pages of notes in the notebook for far longer than the allotted time held. One minute he was at his Snowdin station, the next he was in Waterfall. He hadn't even initiated a shortcut. He was just there. Briefly startled, he pocketed the notebook with a curious look around. He was curious on how he had ended up there only to see the kid.

His previous thought of the kid being the anomaly was suddenly looking very probable and Sans didn't know what to do with that. If nothing else, the kid had something on them that was causing the anomaly.

His ability to move without a script was sporadic after that point, gaps of time where he was able to mill about on his own. He didn't press his luck, though, keeping close to where he needed to be. Exhaustion turned to pain very quickly the more he pushed against the script and Sans was not up for dealing with pain.

He would figure out the timing. He had to.

He also had to figure out if the kid was the anomaly, or if it was something on their person.

The things scrawled on the pages were unfamiliar but it was clearly his handwriting. Though he didn't understand most of it, it helped him think larger picture at least. Theoretically speaking, especially with no viable evidence going towards his theory, it seemed possible that an item could cause a temporal loop if everything was set up right and the same for it being a person. But that also brought up the point of the actual cause of a temporal loop to begin with. With not knowing the cause, he could not speculate much farther on what was keeping him trapped in the loop.

All these thoughts, inconsistent or even crossed out, were jotted down in the notebook. It didn't seem like there was anything else he could do.

Time vanished and before he knew it, he was Judging the kid. For the first time since all this chaos started, his soul felt like it had stopped.

The kid had killed.

It wasn't much EXP but it was there. He could see it. The kid looked like they were going to cry and that eased what fear had touched his soul. He gave the kid a grin, words falling free reassuring them that they needed to just learn from their mistakes and not do it again. Accidents happen and he wasn't about to fault the kid on that.

But it did mean that somehow, someway, the kid was out of the temporal loop like he was, or he was no longer sticking with his own timeline and was jumping timelines.

The latter thought scared him the most.

The events that followed were the same. The script didn't change. It was still nice, though, to see Toriel and the others, to watch as the room was filled with all sorts of monsters, all of them encouraging the kid as they went up against the thorn known as Flowey, and Hope touched him briefly even as the logical part of his mind was betting on another reset. The world turned white.

Somewhere, somehow, the barrier was destroyed.

The emotions rolling through him were nothing compared to the burst of anxiety that hit him. He was face first on his sheetless mattress once more and he wasn't sure if he wanted to look. One the one hand, his room being unchanged from when he had shoved everything about would be a promising sight but if it all had reset…

Knowing he lacked time, he shoved at the mattress and looked over.

He wasn't sure what slammed into him, what emotion rolled about his soul most, but the physical recoil from the room being reset was real. He reached out without a thought, grabbing at the too bright blue fabric he was coming to rely on as a lifeline. He pulled the notebook out, finding the pen stuck between the pages like a bookmark. He let it fall open.

The sob caught him off guard and he curled around the notebook as he pressed a hand against his mouth to silence any more sobs.

There, on the open pages, were all his notes from the last reset.

He wasn't sure if he was crying because of relief or dread. He didn't care. He shoved the emotions away as he snatched up the pen. With a shaky hand that steadied slowly, he began to write. 

**r4 – fourth wake up facedown/mattress after barrier breaks – still no memory seeing barrier gone – wake up location still consistent  
room failed reset test  
kid had exp – one kill**

The pen stilled. What else was there to write? Anything? He had already notated his thoughts about the kid either being the anomaly or carrying whatever is causing said anomaly during the previous reset.

He looked up when Papyrus pounded on his door, a weary expression on his face.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he called out, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness he wasn't feeling. Whelp. Here was to another reset. 

**r5 – fifth wake up facedown/mattress after barrier breaks – no memory seeing barrier gone – wake up location same  
same exp  
scent in waterfall – familiar but can no longer place it**

Gods he hated this. 

**r7 – no memory of barrier gone – location same  
same exp**

Somehow he was grateful for the same things happening over and over again. Made it easier to keep track of everything 

**r10 – no memory – local same  
more exp – two kills?  
fairly certain i heard a voice – can't remember the words**

He opened his sockets slowly, face down in the mattress once more. 

**r11 – no – same  
same exp – most likely two kills, hard to gauge**

Groaning, he rolled over and fell softly onto the floor. The too blue coat was right where he expected it to be, within reach of an out stretched hand. 

**r15 – no – same  
same exp  
shadow in waterfall**

He pulled it close and dug out the notebook. It was looking a bit worse for wear after so many resets. The book fell open to the bookmarked page, the pen still snug between the pages. With his notes having become so short, he had every reset since the 15th on one page. His gaze settled on the latest one. 

**r23 – no – same  
exp increase – three kills  
script memorized**

He sighed, rubbing at his face. Twenty-three resets. So many that he wasn't able to really keep them all separate in his head. He knew there had been a lot but keeping this running tally was certainly helping. He picked up the pen and wrote: 

**r24 – no – same  
same exp**

Pulling the coat back onto his lap, he pocketed the notebook, frowning when his fingers clattered with something metal. Turning his hand over, he pulled out a key. Funny, he couldn't recall knowing what door the strip of metal belonged to, let alone when he had shoved it into the pocket. He could feel magic around it, though. It was faint but he could make out the tell tale signs of a magical tether. He frowned. Odd. Why would a key be magically tethered to its door?

Papyrus pounded on his door and he spared the abused wood a glance.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he called out, his voice lulling the words about in a manner that spoke of sleepiness.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. Sans chuckled. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap," he replied, getting up. He started to dress. "You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Not waiting for his brother's footsteps to disappear completely, Sans gripped the key. From one second to the next, he found himself face to face with a door. A look around revealed he was, indeed, at the back of his house and for the briefest of moments he let his incredulous feeling about the fact there was a door at the back of his house this entire time that he had somehow forgotten flood through him. He shoved the emotion away and inserted the key into the lock.

It turned.

With a click, the door unlocked and swung open to reveal stairs that led down into some unknown space. Swiping his hand over the light switch, the lights flickered on as he took the stairs as quickly as he dared. He didn't have time to be leisurely.

He stepped into a sparse lab.

Relief was weird in this situation but he had no time to really explore. Trying the drawers, he found they were easy to pull all the way out and he placed all of them on the counter. It would have to be enough for a test this run.

He pulled at the world, appearing in the kitchen doorway. He walked nonchalant to the table, sitting down as his brother noticed him right on time.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have."

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he rested his chin on his palm. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him and Sans grinned at his brother and commented, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise in his head.

All his thoughts were centered on the lab. If the lab was outside the temporal loop, it would give him someplace private to work. He would have to test a few things to see if items placed in the space became separate from the loop like the pockets of his jacket but the initial reset test was first.

He hoped that it worked; that the space was truly separate from the resets.

He put his fork down as he swallowed the bite he had been consuming, finding more comfort than revulsion in the pasta compared to earlier runs, and keyed in to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. Papyrus hadn't really touched his own place and Sans's smile grew a bit more endearing. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

Stepping out of the house, Sans took the moment to look towards the underground's ceiling. Seemed to be his habit now, but the claustrophobia that poked at his soul was more of a comfort than a nuisance. Kinda like Papyrus's spaghetti. Sans had stopped being claustrophobic within the first 10 resets but the phantom memory of its choking grip helped make him feel not so crazy.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

Sans lulled his head to the side to look lazily at his brother, a soft smile on his face. "Yeah, bro," he spoke. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him with a soft smile belaying his amusement and fondness. His brother's reactions never changed and he looked forward to each one coming.

Slowly but surely the timeline progressed and Sans found no flaws in the script. He sighed, trudging through the snow through Snowdin. If he was right, his brother will be finishing up his interaction with the human soon, meaning that Sans was going to be needed for his comic relief here in a bit.

" _Sans."_

Sans jumped, whipping around to stare at the path he had just walked as adrenaline prickled the magic along his bones. He frantically searched for the voice that had just whispered in his ear but there was no one near him in the softly drifting snow, not to mention that his foot prints were the only ones in the soft powder.

" _Hurry."_

Dread drenched his bones in ice as he spun around to face the path leading to where Papyrus and the human were supposed to be having their "confrontation". There was no one there but the urgency in the voice had caused such a reaction that Sans pulled at the world frantically.

He found himself in the midst of the fog that had briefly settled over the path towards Waterfall.

"Papyrus!" he called out, his voice cracking. He swallowed and called out again. "Papyrus! Kid!"

A soft sound caught his attention and he turned, listening. Was that…was someone crying? He was fairly certain he could hear sniffling and he made his way towards it. For the briefest of moments, Papyrus and the human were on the back burner.

It didn't matter in the end.

He came to a space that looked a bit roughened up. He could make out some of the markings in the ground to be his brother's handy work but he couldn't see his brother anywhere. There was a sniffle to his right and he looked over, gaze dropping towards the ground.

His soul stopped as the human looked up at him.

The blaster went off without him even realizing he had summoned it, the red of his brother's scarf shining bright in the human's dust covered hands.

He hit the floor with a thud, magic reeling as he jumped to his feet and found himself not in the middle of the path to Waterfall, but in his room with his magic solidifying into attacks all around him.

The pounding on his door made him jump for the first time in a very long time.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he automatically replied, his voice not even quaking as he noticed the back of his sockets stung.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

He rubbed at his sockets to make the stinging go away only to find his hand wet with the magical equivalent of tears for skeletons. He grabbed at the nearest cloth and rubbed vigorously at his face to rid the traces of him crying.

He collapsed to his knees, shaking, as he choked on a sob. Stars above, the human had killed. The human had killed his _brother_ and he had been too late. He had been-

He took in a sharp breath, shoving the random piece of laundry aside and grabbed at his coat. He yanked out the notebook and let it fall open. 

**r25 – kid killed pap  
reset after i took kid out – still bedroom  
disembodied voice sent me after pap and kid – may be going crazy  
have to warn pap**

He shoved the notebook back into its pocket and teleported down to the kitchen. "Pap, we need to talk."

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

Dread rushed through him. "No, Papyrus, I'm serious. We need to talk."

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

He flinched, swallowing hard at another wave of tears. He resisted pressing the heel of a hand against his left socket. There was no use in crying and he could ignore the growing headache. "Papyrus, please."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before his spot and Sans gave into the script with a dejected sigh, sitting down. "This looks great, Pap," he offered meekly. "Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking about something in that loud voice of his but it was nothing more than background noise in his head.

He went through the motions of eating a few bites before putting his fork down and cutting in to the one sided conversation when he was supposed to.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

There was no change when they stepped out of the house when compared to the other timelines. Sans let his head fall back, feeling far more exhausted than he should probably be.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

He looked to his brother. "Yeah, bro," he spoke. "Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him. As they traversed along the path, Sans wondered what would happen if he just killed the kid outright. Would it do anything? He could try for a few runs. Would make him feel better. Would be an interesting experiment as well, all things considered. But if the kid was killed and the world reset, did that answer whether it was the kid or an object that was manipulating the timeline? Probably not but, as he found himself face down on his mattress, he fought the urge to unleash as much magic he had into the surrounding space and destroy it. It wasn't like it was going to stay that way.

He wallowed in the emotion and urge for far longer than he probably should have. With a sigh, Sans sat up and grabbed his jacket. He pulled the notebook out and it fell open. He plucked the pen from the notebook and wrote: 

**r26 – warning pap was pointless  
abnormal reset, unknown cause – still bedroom**

There was pounding on his door.

The resets were consistent with only one thing after that: their restart point. For whatever reason, Sans always found himself waking to the view of his mattress. He wondered how long that would be as he sat up and grabbed for his jacket. His fingers tangled in the fabric and he pulled it close enough to get the notebook out. It fell open, revealing well worn pages and nearly half a book filled with scrawls. He picked up the pen he was using and filled in the new entry. 

**r102 – neutral  
kid's controlling resets, dt involved**

Hey, at least something new had happened, but the information was not comforting to say the least. There was nothing he could do. He had done a good amount of researching in hopes of discovering what it was that was causing all the resetting but any information he had been able to locate was limited. It would seem, though, that he had some amount of knowledge on the subject, even if he couldn't even remember a life outside the resets.

His nonexistent stomach gnawed at him. Must be time for breakfast.

Sure enough, there was pounding on his door.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he replied.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO! TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

He listened to his brother's footsteps just because he could. As they disappeared down the stairs, he stood up and dressed. He was glad he didn't have to worry about laundry, though it would make for a bit of entertainment. He wondered what would happen if he went down in the wrong cloths?

No, wait, he had tried that already. Somewhere before the 100th mark if he wasn't mistaken. He had tried both the craziest outfit he could think of and no outfit at all. Somewhere between his bedroom and the kitchen, he would be washed with a sense of vertigo and suddenly be in his proper attire. A shame, really. He would have loved to have been able to get odd reactions out of the kid.

Breakfast transpired as it always did but he was glad for the food. Even tasted good this time around. That or he had officially lost his sense of taste. Would not surprise him.

Kid came out covered in dust.

He sighed, rubbing at his face. Whelp, it would seem that this run wasn't going to be a pacifist run either. At least there hadn't been a true genocide run yet. While he had taken the kid out a few times, he had found it futile. Kid reset almost instantly every time he hit outside the script. Though, that did leave him rather concerned. When exactly was he permitted to actually try and take the kid out? Was he just meant to stand by idly and watch the kid take everyone out?

Papyrus hadn't been touched in runs and Sans hoped it stayed that way.

It seemed his 1 HoPe was working against him.

Everyone was dust.

From the ruins to Snowdin, there wasn't a single monster left that hadn't been taken out by the kid. All that had been warned in time had evacuated to New Home but those that had remained behind were no more. A phantom presence walked beside him as he trekked after the kid towards the spot his brother would be confronting them at. He tried hard not to look at the figment of his imagination. Right now, the fake presence seemed to sooth some part of his frayed nerves about the situation.

He was fairly certain that meant he had long since lost his mind in all this.

He arrived in time to see the final action taken by the human and Sans couldn't help but hold his breath. A make or break decision, the one decision he was fearing.

The kid spared Papyrus.

Sans released his breath, nearly sobbing. For one more reset, Papyrus lived.

The world reset after the kid had passed through the Judgment Hall. 

**r184 – neutral  
phantom presence prior to Papyrus being killed.  
presumably, asgore took the kid out  
there potentially two personalities or something? a difference between pacifist and homicidal?**

Sans ran a hand over his skull. He wondered how many resets he would have to go through to find out the answer to that particular question. 

**r192 – first true genocide – reset point judgment hall  
kid easily taken out**

 **r194 – genocide – judgment hall  
kid's only resetting back far enough to take me on**

 **208 – genocide – judgment hall  
kid lasted quite a bit this go round – got a bit worried in there  
glad i don't actually have to eat or anything**

 **246 – genocide – judgment hall  
i think the kid's learning my moved but i can't seem to remember what i do in the previous timeline to change things up**

 **r287 – genocide – judgment hall  
kid's learning the attacks i'm repeating**

 **r302 – genocide – judgment hall  
i miss pap**

 **346 – genocide – judgment hall  
kid got close to killing me**

 **r386 – genocide - judgment hall  
kid killed me**

His hand was shaking so bad that he wasn't even sure if his note was even legible. He still felt as if he was dusting on the spot. He lost some meal he didn't remember having, expelled magic splattering against the golden tile.

His breath was shaky but he could feel the kid. After so long, he knew where exactly in the hall the kid was at all times. He straightened up, gritting his teeth against the need to vomit, to run, to cry as the kid started to approach their place.

He appeared before the kid like always, spoke to the kid like always. His speech had shortened to something pathetic. Seemed his script adapted with time.

He managed to kill the kid.

He woke face first in his mattress.

He jolted upright, bewildered. What-

Throwing himself to the side, Sans grabbed at his jacket and pulled it to him. He yanked out the notebook and opened it roughly. There, laid out in poor scrawling, were all the resets where the kid had been fighting him, even his last note of the kid having killed him.

Sans shuddered, working to forget that. He ran a hand over his face, trying to deny the fact that his hand was shaking before he picked up the pen and wrote the next entry. 

**r387 – genocide – bedroom  
** **killed the kid, been a while since this reset point**

The pounding on his door made him jump, a Gaster Blaster materializing at his side in the blink of an eye, ready to fire.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

Sans blinked at the door as the words fell out without his bidding. "Five more minutes, Pap." He had forgotten…

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. "TIME TO GET UP!"

"That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Relief was weird as he listened to his brother's footfall disappear down the stairs. He had been through so many runs with the kid trying to kill him that, one, he was clearly still jumpy and, two, he had forgotten what he had been fighting for. He had forgotten about Papyrus. It would seem being stuck in a script meant he stopped listening to the words he said.

He dressed quickly and teleported downstairs. His appearance was right on time and his brother glanced his way as he entered the kitchen.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have." The words were playful and urging and he filled them with as much love and adoration as he could muster. It was all he could do, especially seeing as he wasn't sure if he was dreaming or if this was an actual reset at the moment.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily and true as he beamed at his brother. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans happily dug in, feeling as if he hadn't eaten in days. It tasted like heaven. "This is great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking. Sans listened, absorbing every word like it was the first time, letting the melody of his brother's boisterous voice fill him. But, like everything else, there was a time limit.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

They stepped out of the house and Sans took the moment to take in the town. It left him feeling nostalgic to see the town so full of life. He couldn't even remember the last run he had seen this.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

He looked to Papyrus, smiling. "Yeah, bro. Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him, completely content with the moment. As they traversed along the path, Sans greeted those they passed joyously. Eventually, they reached the point where Sans went on ahead by himself. Here, Sans took a slow exit, keeping his brother in sight till he could no longer. With a heavy soul, he teleported to his spot.

The sound of stone grating on stone echoed through the trees and Sans had to keep from unleashing an attack right then and there. Just seeing the kid threw him back into the previous timelines and it was hard not to fight the script set out before him. But as he watched the kid, there was no dust on them and they interacted with him as if nothing had happened. As the timeline progressed, Sans started to heavily doubt this wasn't a dream.

The timeline reset. Sans was face first against his mattress. He was so confused. Sitting up, he grabbed the notebook out of his jacket pocket and entered a new entry. 

**r388 – pacifist – bedroom  
what in the world is going on?**

He wasn't sure he wanted to know. 

**r389 – pacifist – bedroom  
again?  
shadow disappeared behind a pillar in judgment hall**

 **r402 – genocide – judgment hall  
pacifist and neutral runs may have been reprieve?**

 **r426 – neutral – bedroom  
kid's messing with me  
multiple personalities or different kid in same body, not sure which i want to actually be right**

 **r438 – genocide – judgment hall  
kid's at it again**

 **r442 – genocide – bedroom**

 **r449 – neutral – bedroom**

 **r453 – pacifist – bedroom  
pacifist – frisk**

 **r468 – genocide – judgment hall**

 **r503 – genocide – bedroom  
homicide – chara**

He closed the notebook, frowning at it. So there was one question half answered. It would seem the human had two personalities at minimum and two souls at max. He wasn't which of those he preferred but he knew one thing:

He hated Chara. 

**r526 – pacifist – bedroom  
black mass following me – vanishes when i focus on it, always there out of the corner of socket**

Frisk was a sweet, caring kid with a soul of gold and seemed to much prefer being a pacifist than a murderer. Chara was like their shadow, their evil twin. When Chara was the one in control of the run, Sans found that the script was changing around their dialogue. Frisk never really talked. At least, not that he remembered _hearing_. Chara was chatty and they were getting more boisterous and cocky as the timelines progressed. 

**r537 – neutral – hotlands sentry station  
new reset location – little weird  
abnormal reset – didn't even make it to judgment hall  
mass out of corner of eye upon wake up**

Chara really liked killing him over and over as time progressed. 

**r559 – pacifist – somewhere in waterfall  
abnormal – barely passed waterfall**

He was becoming numb to getting sliced across the chest. 

**r599 – genocide – judgment hall  
25th death in a row  
black thing out of corner of socket is shaped like a person now – dubbed phantom just for kicks**

He was becoming numb to the feeling of dusting. 

**r648 – genocide – middle of snowdin forest  
chara's toying with me**

Chara stepped out of the ruins this go round. There wasn't much dust on their hands but Sans had long since discovered that amount of dust did not equate to kills.

He closed his sockets and felt what little hope he had for the timeline vanish. 

**r699 – genocide – bedroom  
frisk is missing**

He wasn't sure how long it had been since he had seen Frisk in control of the body but it was well over 100 resets and he was beginning to not care anymore. Whether personality or separate soul, Sans couldn't tell, but he was getting real sick and tired of having Chara about, not that there was much he could do about it.

Chara was growing more vicious. They were breaking script constantly, though it seemed the script around them adapted. They had long since stopped with consistent reset locations and Sans now found himself resetting to the middle of conversations he couldn't even remember starting. He crunched his way through the snow, fuming. Being suddenly dumped into a conversation he could handle, but Chara seemed get under his skin and he didn't even have any! It was infuriating on how just a few words from the psychopath would drive him up the wall where others saying similar things would hardly draw his attention. A bad run prior and the psychopath reset back to the edge of some conversation Sans derailed because he was still in fight mode. Made a scene and everything and he couldn't help but wallow in annoyance and self pity for the small stretch of privacy had had hiking through Snowdin forest before teleporting home.

Out of the corner of his socket, the phantom was sitting on top of an outcropping of rock. Sans ignored it, even as he got a whiff of cigarette smoke as he stepped passed.

With a voice shifting from a soft, deep voice to something airy and high only to settle halfway between at the end, the phantom challenged, " _Babysitting's a pain, ain't it?"_

It was like something snapped within him. Whether the blasted thing was real or not, regardless if the voice was nothing more than in his head trying to keep him somewhat sane in all this chaos, he retaliated. His left pupil burst to life with magic and he pulled at the snow around him. Creating snowballs magically was difficult. They were flimsy but put well enough together that they held form for what he needed. The phantom dodged one but the second one had the phantom leaning to the right, arm coming up to protect its face though there was none for Sans to really see. There was no rock to put a hand on and it fell off the outcrop it had been sitting on. Sans chucked snowball after snowball at it even as it laughed and tried to get away from him. It slipped and he chucked a snowball at the tree. It impacted with enough force that a branch unloaded a heap of snow onto the phantom.

Hands buried deep inside his jacket, hood fur brushing his cheeks, he walked over to the phantom as his left pupil returned to normal. Odd, he never thought that his phantom would actually be real enough for snowballs to have effect. But looking at the phantom made it vanish for whatever reason so even now his gaze was off to one side as the phantom sat up. It shifted and he got the sudden sense that it was beaming at him. It was an odd feeling and the supposed smile was rather contagious. If nothing else, it made him realize how childish he had been. He reached down, feeling stupid for helping up a figment of his imagination but finding it too late to pull back his hand.

The phantom hand felt solid in his and it was like a veil was removed from his mind as he pulled – for whatever use it would be – and helped the figure up. Standing before him was a solid person dressed in attire that did not fit the situation and with one too many layers to have him comfortable. The figure's gloved hand left his, the fabric as white as the shirt the figure wore. Though mostly a black suit, the overcoat and pants were clearly a different black to the coat and shoes, both of which were a blue based black. It rather made his head hurt trying to think about it. The tie was a dark red to the point of being black and the vest was, thankfully, gray. He hadn't even been aware there were so many variants of black. Made the figure's red hair stand out even more, even with a mask on the phantom's head rather than their face. Speaking of, Sans wasn't even sure if he was speaking to a person of gender or not. They were clearly human and as solid as he was, but he was fairly certain they were not real. If they were real, though, then something was definitely wrong with the world he was in.

The figure beamed at him, chuckling, and he couldn't help the smile in return. The veil leaving had him remembering the phantom's presence and though a headache grew beneath his temples, he was glad that he at least already knew the phantom to some extent. For one, he knew they were an absolute snarky dork and it was a relief to have some humor in all this, even if it came from his own broken mind.

"Better?" the figure asked.

He shrugged. "More or less. Yer a pain in the ass, you know that?"

The figure laughed and Sans felt less stupid talking to himself for it. "Hey, you're looking at me outright now so I'm not complaining."

Sans's expression fell as he took stock of his memories, the figure pulling a new cigarette out of somewhere and lighting it. Sure enough, whatever had been preventing him from perceiving the figure had lifted. He could recall every instant he had seen them, which brought to mind, "Who and what are you exactly? Are you really a figment of my imagination or are you something more?"

The figure took a drag of their cigarette as he spoke. They pulled the cigarette from between their lips and slowly released the smoke. "How bout we go somewhere more comfortable to talk, shall we?"

From one instant to the next, Sans found himself sitting at Grillby's bar with not a monster in sight. Sans found his hand around a bottle of ketchup and his companion sitting beside him, taking another long drag from their cigarette as they traced the rim of a glass full of some sort of alcohol.

Sans gave them a look and they chuckled, releasing the pull they had taken. "You'd be surprised on what I can do, Sans. After all, I am both real and a figment of your imagination." His look shifted to a flat one and the figure had the gall to actually laugh at him. He got waved off as the figure rested their chin on their palm, elbow braced on the counter. "I am here for none but you, Sans. We're going to get well acquainted while you're here."

A frown pulled at his teeth. "What do you mean?"

The figure's expression quickly became serious. "Your world is going to start decaying if it hasn't already. You'll be noticing it more as time progresses. A single timeline can handle only so much manipulation and you know that."

He did. For whatever reason, what the figure was saying was both new and old news to him. Thing was, he had never really thought too heavily on that particular information before and now that he had, he felt stupid for not having thought of it. He downed half of the ketchup bottle in one go. It tasted weird after so long of not drinking it. He made a face. He was losing his enjoyment of the condiment and the thought was mildly depressing.

"I am only repeating what you already know, Sans," the figure reminded him as the bottom of the bottle connected with the counter.

"Do you know how it's all going to end?" he tested, looking their way. The figure only had eyes for the glass they were rolling about on its rim.

"I'm not omniscient, Sans," the figure drawled, their words suddenly sharp. Sans flinched from the sudden change. "I only know what you know and what you pretend not to know. I point out things from an outsider's position because you asked for it."

The ketchup bottle paused nearly to his teeth and he blinked, processing that. He slowly lowered the bottle, frowning. "What do you mean?" he asked, his voice coming off a bit gravelly. "I never asked for this."

The figure smirked and Sans tensed. The edges of the room started to dim unnaturally and the figure sat up straight. "Whelp, would seem our time is up." They looked back at him, raising their glass in a toast as they offered, "You asked for answers. This is your mind's way of giving them to you. Good luck understanding them. You'll need it."

Sans woke up face down on his mattress. He bolted upright, looking about.

Nobody was there.

Relaxing a bit, he grabbed his notebook and let it fall open. 

**r700 – neutral – bedroom  
met my phantom – not sure how i feel about that – real or am i going mad?**

"Fairly certain you're mad."

Sans nearly leapt out of his cloths, taking a tumble to the clothing covered floor. There was a string of giggles from somewhere but as he pushed himself into a seated position, his brother pounded on the door.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he replied, eyes roaming his room.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO!" his brother countered. "TIME TO GET UP!"

He got up slowly, anticipating something but not overly sure what. "That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

Sans took the chance and glanced at the door as Papyrus left. As he turned back around, he gave an undignified yelp and fell backwards, tripping over laundry. There was a dull thud of his body hitting the floor.

Another string of giggles, this set completely different from the other and it was unnerving. "Seems you're a touch jumpy there, Sans."

Sans glared at the figure. "I think I preferred not being able to look at you. Or remember you," he grumbled, working to stand up. The figure held out a hand and, after a brief bit of consideration, Sans took the held up. The figure passed him his coat and notebook and he took them without a word.

"You'd get curious eventually," the figure countered, their voice some odd vocal range muffled by a rather creepy mask. Sans did his best to keep his eyes on the figure. There was a quirk to the following words that made Sans think the figure was grinning. "I like 'phantom'. Close to my name already, I'm impressed."

"You're name is similar to phantom," Sans asked, not believing the figure as he pulled on a proper shirt.

The figure huffed, amused, and suddenly there was a name in Sans's head. He froze, pupils pinpricks as they focused on the figure. The mask's grin seemed to grow.

"How did you do that?" he asked, the words breathless.

Fate – for Sans found it hard to call them anything other than that now – shrugged nonchalant. "I am both real and a figment of your imagination, Sans. I'm able to do a many number of things. Interacting with others is not one of them, though."

Sans stilled, coat halfway on. He shrugged it on completely as he asked, "So if we show up in public, no one else will see you?"

"Correct," Fate confirmed, opening Sans's bedroom door. "As much as I can interact with the word around you, I cannot interact with it where others can see me. In fact, I'll disappear much as I had prior to your, ah, acceptance of the situation."

Sans gave a huff of a laugh, lacking any real amusement with the situation. "Great. Let me guess, it has something to do with the script?"

Fate shrugged again as they led the way down the stairs. "More of being a figment of your imagination is limiting."

Sans frowned but Fate vanished as he approached the kitchen. One instant they were there, the next they were gone, and Sans was left with an odd sensation of having walked into a room and having completely forgotten why he was there in the first place. And it was just the sensation, which was even weirder. Sans was glad he was on the edge of the script's time limit seeing as it didn't leave him time to dwell on the sensation.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," he commented, taking his normal seat with a glance around.

No Fate in sight.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile came easily as he looked at his brother. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans speared a forkful as he offered, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking. Sans let his brother's voice become noise in his skull, drowning out any thoughts he may have had.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he interjected without thinking, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

They stepped out of the house and Sans took the moment to take in the town. Everything looked the same but there was still no sign of Fate. Not sure what he felt about that, he let his gaze wander to the ceiling.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

He looked to Papyrus, smiling. "Yeah, bro. Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him. He didn't see Fate again till he was making his way to the ruin doors. They just suddenly appeared beside him, their footfall crunching softly beside his own.

"Enjoy yer time away?" he asked, only slightly bitter at the fact that he had been startled. Again.

"To an extent," Fate offered as a sort of nonanswer. Sans didn't pry.

He looked up at the branch he normally occupied. After a moment, he asked, "So what are they? Multiple personalities or two separate souls?"

Fate hummed, though Sans felt it didn't bode well for the answer. "I haven't the faintest clue."

Sans closed his sockets, not surprised. "Of course not. How long are you planning on sticking about?" He turned, looking to Fate, only to find the figure gone. He let out a sigh. "Guess that answers one question."

He teleported to his branch and settled in, watching the door.

Chara stepped out coated in dust.

"How long have you been in this loop?" Fate asked during a lull. For whatever reason, Chara had wandered off rather than take Sans on in their current marathon of genocide fights. Sans was not complaining. He was rather enjoying the reprieve from death sitting in Grillby's empty bar, ketchup bottle in hand. He was in denial about actually being grateful for Fate's presence.

Sans ran a hand over his skull, doing the rough math. "From what I've been tracking and if I'm mathing correctly, you're name came about the month mark, so I've been in this temporal loop somewhere just over a month. Probably close to a week, if I'm calculating all this right without paper. Or a calculator."

Fate seemed to be a statue at his side, unmoving and solid. "And have you gotten any actual sleep in this last week?"

Sans shrugged, not really caring. Something had changed in the kid. Ever since he had gained knowledge of Fate's name, everything has gone downhill. Chara had become even more vicious and in what Sans could perceive as a week, he had been through more than 160 resets, with the kid going at him like a bat out of hell. Sans had stopped keeping track of the resets somewhere in there.

The worst part of it all was that Sans was now getting to see Frisk but it was only when Chara was supposed to take a final hit or when Chara wanted to tease him with a pacifist run. There had been such an odd spattering of pacifist runs that, had he not been taking notes as he was, he would just think them nothing more than hopeful dreams. It was just becoming too much and he was starting to shut down.

"The last run's coming."

Sans gave a dry chuckle as he raised the bottle to his lips, commenting sarcastically, "I didn't realize this was all coming to an end."

It wasn't overly true but there had always been the possibility of him never getting out. To hear Fate say that the last run was coming only seemed to confirm what he had been seeing; the loop was finally destabilizing. However, what that meant for him when it all came crashing down was a mystery. Still, he was looking forward to something other than this.

The bottom of the bottle touched the counter again.

"I won't be there for the rest of them."

Sans snapped his gaze to his companion. Through the past week Fate had been by his side doing their best to keep him from going completely insane. He had become dependent on Fate's calm presence and it was all he could do to not break at that simple statement.

"What?" he croaked, his hand clenching the bottle like a lifeline. "Why?"

Fate gave a nonchalant, one shoulder shrug. "If I had the choice, I'd stick around, but for whatever reason, our interactions are going to diminish till I'm no longer around and you'll be on your own."

Sans wasn't sure what he felt at the moment. He threw back the rest of the ketchup but he didn't taste it.

"I'm sorry."

Sans whipped around, glaring at Fate. "Sorry?" he snapped. "You're sorry?! Why would you be sorry for ditching my sorry ass in my time of need?"

Fate's expression closed off and they reached a hand towards him. "Sans, calm down."

The edges of the room were beginning to dim.

"No!" he barked, slipping from the stool. "I have every right to be pissed right now. You are supposed to be a figment of my imagination and yer just going to ditch me. What? Is my own mind bailing on me now? Is my own sanity throwing in the towel with the finish line finally in sight?"

"Of course not," Fate retorted, their voice settling into a vocal pitch and pattern that felt far too familiar. Sans instinctively shied away from it. "I have no idea why I'm not getting to stick around. I'm not getting to choose." They jabbed a finger at him. "You are having me leave."

Sans's pupils went out.

"What?" he asked, his voice level.

Fate scoffed. "You said it yourself; I'm a figment of your imagination. My staying and leaving has to do with what you have decided on and, for whatever reason, you've decided to do this last bit on your own."

"No I didn't," he spoke, his volume soft.

Fate's only grew louder. "Yes you did!" they bellowed, throwing an arm to the side in frustration before pointing at him again. "You, by yourself, made the decision to get answers without relying on others! You. No one else." Fate drew back their hand, curling it into a fist as they visibly fought to bring themself back under control. Sans was rather grateful the mask was currently a hat on their red hair. Fate focused on him and there was regret in their gaze. "Sans, you made the choice to do this on your own. You chose to turn away the offered hands."

Sans tore his gaze away, the back of his sockets stinging. "You're lying," he croaked.

Fate gave a weak smile. "And you're in denial," they countered, almost gently. "I haven't left yet so let's keep going till we can't go anymore."

Sans closed his sockets letting the darkness engulf him without responding.

He found himself face down on his mattress.

He closed his sockets, just being in his exhaustion for the brief moment he could. He must have dozed off because the pounding on his door woke him.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he replied with a yawn. He could really use a good night's sleep, actually. How long had it been since he had gotten one?

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO! TIME TO GET UP!"

He couldn't remember.

"That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

He listened to his brother's footsteps disappear and he settled against his mattress, closing his sockets with the intent to get some sleep.

"You'd best get up and dressed, Sans," Fate spoke, appearing without a sound.

Sans didn't respond.

Fate let out a sigh. "The timeline will force you along, Sans, and you'll be worse for wear if you have it force you."

Sans didn't dignify that with a response. He wasn't fighting the script. He was simply catching some Zs where he could and right now was the best time.

Fate sighed again but said nothing more on the matter.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

Sans opened his sockets, finding himself sitting in his seat at the kitchen dressed. He let out a soft sigh, sad that his nap was now over.

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," he spoke, the words taking their own inflection.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

The smile appeared on his face as he looked at his brother. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans offered, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking. Sans let his brother's voice become noise in his skull, a soothing melody for his tired mind. As much as he had got offended at the thought of Fate throwing in the white towel with the end in sight, he was rather tempted to do just that. Apathy, depression, _something_ had settled in his soul and he just didn't care enough anymore to put effort in the parts that mattered. This part mattered, this part was important. There was no telling if this would be the last time he would get to see his brother and even that thought wasn't enough for him do even put in effort to do the next line proper.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he stated, unintentional words bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

They stepped out of the house and Sans watched Papyrus, watched as the skeleton closed the door, locked it, checked it, and then trekked over to his side. He took in every motion, every shift in Papyrus's form but felt he couldn't truly appreciate this moment as he should.

Stars above, he was tired.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

He looked up at his brother's face, smiling softly. "Yeah, bro. Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him. The journey was normal and uneventful. They parted ways and Sans took up his spot near the stone doors leading into the ruins.

The sound of stone grating on stone filled the forest.

Sans wasn't sure if he was seeing things right. For the first time in what felt like forever, Sans was watching Frisk exit the ruins. Though as unusual as it was – and despite how much it put him on edge – Sans went through the motions.

To his complete surprise and utter relief, it really was Frisk. The kid giggled at his lame jokes, was enthusiastic to be friends with his brother, and, for the first time in a very long time, Sans got to experience a Pacifist run all the way through. When he woke face down on his mattress after the barrier supposedly broke, he woke feeling rather refreshed. He picked up his notebook and opened it.

"Don't forget about the run prior," Fate voiced from some corner. Sans didn't look their way but the reminder was welcomed and he quickly put in the two entries. 

**r874 – genocide – bedroom  
loop's decaying – maybe this will actually end  
fate's leaving for whatever reason – not ok with this**

 **r875 – pacifist – bedroom  
it was so nice to see frisk after so long**

"You do seem well rested after this last run," Fate commented but Sans chose not to acknowledge them as he dressed.

There was pounding on his door as he pulled his coat on.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he replied with a smile. It was odd how he felt so rejuvenated after a good run. He really needed to figure out how to not get quite so depressed. Eh, that required effort on his part and, really, he was quite content on just staying in the pleasant joy of the previous run

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO! TIME TO GET UP!"

He grinned, speaking honestly, "That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

He listened to his brother's footsteps disappear down the stairs before following after on soft feet.

"It's odd to see you so cheerful," Fate commented, though it sounded like they were talking to themself rather than Sans. "I wonder what caused the change in mood. Could a pacifist run really cause that much change in a person's mood? Well, I guess after having given up, I wouldn't be surprised."

Fate's mutterings slowly faded out of hearing as Sans made his way to the kitchen. He stood in the doorway watching his brother work, letting the timing catch up.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

"Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," he spoke, the words endearing as he stepped into the kitchen and took his designated seat. He was rather hungry and was looking forward to breakfast spaghetti.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

He grinned. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans wound a forkful as he offered, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking. Sans happily listened to his brother talk, not really listening to the words but enjoying the sound of his brother's voice rising and falling with each word.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he stated, unintentional words bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt. Aw, pity. He was enjoying the moment.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

They stepped out of the house and Sans looked to the town. The previous timeline had been wonderful and, though he hadn't seen the surface, it certainly had felt like they had made it. Odd. Why wasn't he paranoid that it was going to be another genocide run now? He couldn't remember what had happened to have such an effect on him. Eh, he didn't really care.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

He looked up at his brother's face, smiling. "Yeah, bro. Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans happily trailed behind him. Greetings and conversations were exchanged and Sans continued to be relaxed and happy through it all.

The sound of stone grating on stone filled the forest and Sans watched from his perch with an excitement rolling through him. A part of him – the part that still fully remembered the numerous genocide runs that had a pacifist run only to toy with him – was on edge but it was drowned out by this excitement.

Frisk stepped out of the ruins and Sans grinned.

"Five runs in a row," Fate commented as Sans watched Frisk disappear towards Hotlands. "Five runs, all pacifist."

Sans was still attempting to give Fate the cold shoulder but so many good runs had eased whatever hurt he had felt. "Maybe it'll end this way."

Fate hummed but there was a note to it that cut through his good mood and brought reality crashing back down around him. Suddenly overwhelmed, Sans reached for anything to keep him upright. His hand found Fate's arm as the figure moved to help him. Fate eased him to the floor. "Stars above, what am I doing," he breathed, shaking.

"Coming to terms with reality," Fate spoke gently. Sans looked up at them as they pushed the mask up onto the top of their head. "The end is coming. This is a farewell, of sorts, from Frisk, and a sort of play from Chara."

Sans choked, clasping his hand over his teeth. He wasn't sure if he was going to sob or be sick.

"This is the last time you'll see Frisk."

Sobbing it was.

In some isolated tunnel of Waterfall, Sans sobbed. His muffled cries echoed off the walls and his entire body shook as he grieved. This was it. This was the end. His mind had created euphoria to keep him together through the last good run and he had gladly gone along with it.

It hurt. It hurt so much.

Eventually, he calmed down. Fate wasn't present but that was no surprise. The figure – true to their word – was appearing less and less. At least Fate had been there for this, to wake him from his dreaming. Pushing himself to his feet, he did his best to look as if he hadn't been sobbing on the ground and teleported to his Hotland sentry station.

He was grateful when the world reset.

He wasn't sure he would have been able to fake it for the kid much longer.

He pushed himself up from his mattress, feeling exhausted. He started to dress, finding that it was going to be a slow process as he did so. Whelp, it was a good thing that there was a script. Otherwise he was certain that even his brother would notice Sans's depression.

There was pounding on his door.

"SANS! TIME TO GET UP!"

"Five more minutes, Pap," he called out, the words taking the default inflections of the script as he tried to figure out how to pull on shorts without falling over. He was too tired for this and just wanted to curl up on his mattress and block out the world.

"YOU CALLED FOR FIVE MORE MINUTES TEN MINUTES AGO! TIME TO GET UP!"

Stupid script.

"That was so kind of you, Pap. You're the best."

"OF COURSE I AM! NOW HURRY UP AND GET DOWN TO THE KITCHEN! WE HAVE A FULL DAY AHEAD OF US!"

He sat down on the edge of his mattress to pull the shorts on. It seemed the safest thing to do as long as he was able to get himself back up. He stilled with his shorts barely over his knees. Stars above, why did it have to be so difficult?

"Come on, Sans," Fate's voice softly coaxed as the figure appeared. "Keep moving. You have to."

Sans watched as Fate stood him up and helped him pull his shorts all the way up but there was a disconnect and Sans didn't care. He was too tired. "What's the point?" he asked meekly, as Fate pulled his shirt off. Apparently it had been inside out.

"You give up now, and Chara wins." Fate put his shirt back on before cupping his cheek and getting him to look at the figure. "You give up now, and you'll never wake up again."

Sans frowned at Fate's words. That sounded rather cryptic. "Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Fate stepped away and passed Sans his coat. "No, it wouldn't. You would be condemning your brother to a fate worse than a temporal loop."

Sans flinched, taking the coat. "Not sure there's anything worse than this."

"You'd be surprised."

Sans frowned as the coat settled on his shoulders. It wasn't sitting right. He shifted one side and then the other till he realized what was wrong. Odd how panic was the first reaction he had. "Where's the notebook."

"I took it."

Sans looked up, finding the notebook in Fate's hands. He felt his own hands twitch with the need to take it back, to write in it. Fate gave him a strained smile. "You don't need it anymore, Sans. And it would be best to break the habit now."

"But I need it." Sans was both astounded and embarrassed when the words not only came out sounding like whining, but his voice cracked too.

Fate's expression didn't change. "No you don't. The end is near, after all."

Sans reached out but there was a heavy sense of vertigo and he found himself in the kitchen, reaching out towards empty air.

Fate was gone, and so was his notebook.

"BROTHER! GOOD! TAKE A SEAT! BREAKFAST SPAGHETTI IS ALMOST READY!"

Sans jerked, startled by his brother's voice. "Aw, bro, you shouldn't have," came off his tongue without his bidding. He did choose to sit, though.

"NONSENSE!" Papyrus exclaimed. "BREAKFAST IS THE MOST IMPORTANT MEAL OF THE DAY! WE MUST BE NOURISHED TO BE ABLE TO BE PRODUCTIVE."

He gripped at the edge of the table, feeling oddly anxious without the notebook in his pocket. "Sure, bro. Whatever you say."

Maybe Fate was right.

The plate of spaghetti was placed before him with ease and Sans offered, "This looks great, Pap. Even better than your last batch."

Papyrus beamed at him and started talking, though his voice was nothing more than background noise in Sans's skull. He dutifully ate as he tried to calm himself down. Fate had a reason for taking the notebook away. There was a reason he needed to be without it for the remainder of the resets.

His hand twitched around his fork.

"Hey, bro, shouldn't we get going?" he stated, bringing Papyrus's train of thought to a halt.

"YOU ARE RIGHT, BROTHER!" Papyrus exclaimed, jumping to his feet. "IF YOU ARE QUITE FINISHED, WE SHALL LEAVE RIGHT AWAY!"

Sans passed his plate to his brother.

They stepped out of the house and Sans looked to the ceiling in hopes to sooth his anxiety somehow. It helped to be out of the house, at least, but the pocket normally holding the notebook felt empty around his hand. He clenched the inside of the pocket and tried to get his focus elsewhere.

"BROTHER, ARE YOU ARLIGHT?"

He looked up at his brother's face, giving him a strained smile. "Yeah, bro. Guess the sandman wasn't quite done with me this morning." Papyrus frowned at him and Sans grinned. "I honestly can't 'sand' the guy."

Papyrus threw his hands up. "SANS! NOT THIS EARLY IN THE MORNING!"

Sans's grin grew. "Don't worry, Pap, I'm 'morning' that one too."

"UGH!" Papyrus stormed off in the direction of his puzzles and Sans trailed behind him, not sure he was going to be able to survive without it.

It turned out that he could, to an extent. Chara exited the ruins and Sans could already tell it was going to be a genocide run just by the glint in the kid's eye. Sure enough, they ended up in Judgment Hall facing each other and reset after reset of them having at each other erased all memory of anything else that had been part of his world before their fight.

The world reset for who knew how many times. Sans was leaning against a pillar, empty sockets pointed towards the ceiling. He could feel it, deep down in his bones. This was it, this was the last run. For whatever reason, this last fight would end this temporal loop for better or for worse and Sans desperately prayed that it would bring blessed death. He was tired of it all, tired of the resets, tired of the same dialogue, tired of the same sensation of dusting from getting hit once.

He was done with this game.

Chara started walking towards him from the other end of the hall and Sans closed his sockets. He was certain that the kid would be vibrating with excitement. Chara seemed to know what was coming with how much their glee increased with each reset.

Sadly, true to Fate's word, the figure wasn't there. Hadn't been in a good handful of resets. He still touched the pocket where the notebook had been but the urge to write in it every reset had finally left. He only wished he had it so that he knew precisely when the last time he had seen Fate. Not that it changed anything. Fate wasn't there and knowing wouldn't change that fact.

Sans pulled at the world gently, appearing before Chara. The kid was grinning at him, visibly bouncing from foot to foot in a display of excitement that made Sans sneer.

"Let's get this over with," he spoke, though he wasn't sure if it was true to script or not as the kid charged at him.

Sans was surprised when the kid took a few hits. He was fairly certain that the kid had come out of their last encounter nearly unscathed as he succumbed to the wound they inflicted. But the kid kept coming at him, using health items here and there to keep from having their health diminish completely.

Sans threw in his all at taking the kid out.

It turned out to be for naught.

Either he misjudged his teleportation or the kid was simply faster than he had anticipated for the blade sliced through his shirt, scrapping against his ribs enough to take off that one measly HP he had. It was pure reflex that embedded the bone in the human's chest.

He heard their soul shatter as his world went black, the sensation of his bones dusting and his soul shattering engulfing his mind.

* * *

Tumblr: undertaleau-othertale


	3. Part 2: Othertale Chapter 1

**Othertale**

 _Undertale AU_

 _Sans centered_

 _Rating: PG-13_

 _Rated for plot and character deaths_

* * *

 **Part 2: Othertale**

 _Chapter 1_

The transition from nothingness to awareness was so gradual that Sans didn't even notice till he was aware there was a difference. But, beyond just being aware, there was nothing more to it. Sans drifted through this place of nothingness with a foggy mind and no care in the world. After what could have been a second or an eternity, Sans realized something soft was against his back and that he was enveloped in warmth that was accompanied by a slight weight against his front. It took a while but his foggy mind recognized the sensations to be similar to lying in bed.

Whether it was automatic or he had the urge to do so, Sans found himself blinking bleary eyed and exhausted to a blurry view. It cleared with each blink to reveal a ceiling dimly lit. Confusion ran through his being as his brain slowly processed the information and tried to make sense of why he was staring at a ceiling.

The flash of a blade penetrated his thought process.

Panic shoved him upright as he remembered with startling clarity what had just transpired. He should be dust, no longer living. It was suppose to be over. There were supposed to be no more resets. His hand shot to his chest only to find that there was no wound there to press again and that moving was sluggish and surprisingly painful. He winced as his bones ground against each other, his magic weak around his limbs.

Something hit the floor to the left of his bed and he jerked away, magic sputtering through him as his eyes snapped to the left.

It was a bedroom, well kept and leaving a sort of itching sensation in the back of Sans's mind, as if he should know something that just wasn't within reach. The bed he was on was in the left corner farthest from the door in the opposite right corner. The head of the bed was against the wall opposite the door and – from where Sans was sitting – the right side of the bed was against the left wall. There was a window on the wall the head of the bed was against and other bits of furniture filled the space cluttered with knick knacks and books. The most prominent feature in the room was what had gained his attention in the first place.

A human was in a chair next to the bed, gaping at him. They blinked and whatever had been holding them back broke. The person lunged forward, calling out, "Sans! Thank the gods."

Sans leaned away, unsure as both surprise and relief warred within him at hearing his name from a stranger's lips. But then, the scent of a very familiar cigarette entangled itself around him as the stranger stood against the edge of the bed but not coming any closer. Sans looked up into the face of the one and only Fate.

Except, it wasn't Fate. It wasn't the androgynous mischief maker that had been his one and only comrade through so many horrific timelines. The man before him was clearly male. Lanky, sure, but still very clearly male. The facial hair lining the jaw looked as if he hadn't trimmed it in a few days and the glasses were new. The green eyes were familiar but held a different light in them and the bags under them spoke loudly of restless nights. The fact that the man was wearing a beige sweater vest and light khakis spoke louder than anything else. Fate was always in their suit.

The man, regardless of being a bad copy of Fate, knew Sans's name and appeared to be genuinely happy to see Sans awake. Sans didn't find any comfort in that fact and finished the impulse to back up against the wall. He felt his magic give a more substantial show, his eye coming to light as he snapped, "Where's the kid?" Thinking better of it, he added just as sharply, "And where am I?"

The man's confused expression lasted all of two seconds before something close to defeat changed it. Sans watched as it contorted into a conflicted expression as the man shifted his weight back a step, a hand running through the back of the unruly red locks. "Sans, I…" The man sighed, dropping his hand. He stated bluntly, "Sans, you've been in a coma for the last 7 weeks and a handful of days. And, while what you experienced may have seemed real, it was all in your head."

Dread was like an icy ooze that slowly made its way over Sans's bones. Sans shook his head slowly as the man pressed on. "Everything was real. Really and truly. But it was all in your head. And I know this sounds crazy but I need you to trust me on this, Sans." The man gave a weak smile. "I'll answer as many of your questions as I can but I want you to do me a favor first after I get some equipment." Sans tensed. "I want you to tell me everything you remember."

Sans blinked at him. That was it? That was all the man wanted? But Sans's untrusting mind couldn't help but ask what the catch was and it must have translated to his expression because the man was putting his hands up in surrender, urging, "Please, Sans. If I don't record this, you'll end up forgetting something important."

The dread had numbed him and all he could do was nod even as he thought that this was a bad idea. Still, the man relaxed and rushed off, leaving the door open as he went. Sans curled up against the wall, trying to reign in the fear that was creeping in through the numbness. Nothing was the same, nothing was familiar, and there was no one there for him to talk to. He didn't understand. What had happened? Wasn't he supposed to be dead? It had been the final battle, their last fight. There was nothing left for him to live for.

Something settled on Sans's shoulder and Sans jumped, bouncing against the wall as he turned and brought up a hand already crackling with magic. The man had placed a hand on Sans's shoulder and was quickly taking a few steps back, hands clearly in the open to show off what he had brought back. Sans wasn't sure how to take the man's half startled reaction.

"I brought an audio recorder, pen, and paper," the man offered, gesturing with the items when he mentioned them. "Let me set up the recorder and we can get started."

The man sat down in the chair beside the bed and set the recorder up on the nightstand. He picked up the book he had dropped and used it as a hard surface for the spiral notebook he had brought for paper. He took the cap off the pen and looked at Sans. "I won't ask any questions till you're done talking, Sans. Don't hold anything back, no secrets, no nothing. Everything you say here will be confidential and the recording with remain between the two of us till you say otherwise." The man gave him a smile that screamed Fate as he encouraged, "I don't want to lose anything that you experienced to time."

It took only a moment after that line for Sans to give in.

He talked.

And talked.

 _And talked._

By the time he was done, his throat was raw, his hands were shaking, and he had a headache. He just wanted to go back to sleep but something was bugging him, keeping him upright as he watched the man pull off his glasses and rub at watery eyes. He had done as the man had asked and spilled every detail Sans could remember, even the deep, dark secretive thoughts that he was sure only Fate would ever know and he doubted there was a point when the man hadn't been writing.

Papyrus's scarf popped into his mind unbiddingly.

The man replaced the glasses on the bridge of his nose. Closing the notebook, he placed it on the nightstand, looking Sans in the eye and stating seriously, "Look at these and answer whichever you feel need to be answered. I will not push you for answers, Sans." The man smiled Fate's smile again and Sans found himself believing him. "I never have and never will." The man stood as he offered nonchalant, "I'll send Papyrus in, in the morning."

Sans caught the man's wrist as he turned to leave. He knew his grip was probably painful – it was surprisingly strong, so much so that even Sans noticed – but Sans didn't let go as his head tipped forward, casting his eyes in shadows. "Don't," he uttered pathetically.

There was a breath, a strain in the silence as Sans waited for the man to respond. The man placed a careful hand around Sans's, providing, "I will be telling the others you have Dissociative Acute Amnesia. You and I have seen our fair share of this, even if you don't remember, but, basically, it means that you don't remember anything from before your coma. Only what you experienced in your coma dream." The man's grip on his hand tightened in his hesitation. "I will be telling the others not to give you any information that you don't already know."

Sans's head snapped up, his eyes flickering in disbelief and betrayal. "What?!" he exclaimed. "Why!?"

The man shook his head. "It's better for you to recover the memories on your own. Especially with this kind of amnesia. It's going to be very frustrating for some time but, please, trust me. You have to recall things on your own. After all, you just lived through countless lifetimes." For a brief moment, magic flared in Sans's left eye at the reminder of all the timelines and the man's grip on his hand grew. Sans dropped his gaze in favor of pressing his free hand against his burning eye. "I'll also be giving the others the heads up that you're not going to be like they remember and to be prepared to be interacted with differently." The man smiled, offering, "I'm pretty sure you'll recognize everyone."

Unable to take the attempt to make him feel better, Sans shook his head as he released the man's wrist. "I don't remember you." The man blinked at him. It was clear the man had already suspected as much but the hurt was not hidden well enough. Sans went with the need to correct himself. "I don't remember you as you are. You were called Fate back in…those timelines. A figment of my imagination."

Sans was startled when the man laughed. The man gave Sans a big grin. "My last name is Fatum, the Latin version of Fate. It's kind of turned into a joke around the lab that you loved to exploit." The grin softened. "You can continue to call me Fate till you remember my name. And, if you never do, you'll either read it somewhere or one of the others will slip and end up telling you." The man winked. "Papyrus has been eager for you to wake up, after all. He has so much he wants to tell you."

Sans blinked up at Fate, pretending he can't feel the sting of tears in the back of his eyes.

"Really?" Sans winced when his voice cracked. "Is that even safe, though? All I've been through–"

Fate cut him off, gripping both of the small skeleton's shoulders. "You may not be the Sans we all remember, but you are still _our_ Sans. You will always be our Sans. You are a part of the family you made around yourself and I doubt there is anything you can do to change that now." Fate gained a sheepish look, his cheeks turning pink. "Sides, this is the third time I've had to drug Papyrus to get him to sleep."

"WHAT?!"

Fate leapt back as his hands shot up. Sans's magic flared, though it was still not as strong as it should have been. "Easy Sans," Fate urges softly, a soft smile on his lips. Sans only bristled more when he realized that Fate was amused. At least the man had the decency to be kind about it. "Papyrus hasn't been sleeping as of late. It's just a soft sedative to get him to sleep on his own. It wears off in a matter of hours."

Sans tightened his control on his frayed magic and reigned in his emotions. The thought of his brother being so vulnerable, of being injured or killed was still too fresh in his mind. Sans forced out a curt nod as he pulled his knees up towards his chest and pressed his face into them. Fate placed a hand on Sans's shoulder again. The skeleton didn't jump this time.

"Get some rest. I'll send Papyrus in when you wake."

Sans listened to Fate walk to the door and open it. When the door didn't close, Sans brought his head up enough to look at the door. Fate was wearing a complicated look, one that Sans wasn't sure he liked. Fate looked at him. "Take a look at my questions before you get some sleep. It would be best if you could answer some before it's all muddled with what he may tell you tomorrow."

Sans nodded.

The door clicked shut, leaving Sans with a sense of foreboding that made his stomach churn.

Everything he had gone through, everything he had lived through, was a lie? Just a figment of his over active imagination? Sans rubbed at his skull, disbelief bubbling up in him with frustration. No, it wasn't true. What he had lived was real, it had happened. This was just a new time, a new story. It had to be. He didn't remember anything else. He had told Fate all that he had remembered and none of it correlated with this room.

Sans gaze settled on the notebook ominously resting on the corner closest to him. His soul pulsed beneath his sternum as he reached for it.

The spiral notebook was new, the pages still crisp and undamaged from use. He flipped the cover out of the way, finding very elegant handwriting scribbling out notes as fast as the hand writing could manage. Comments blended with the questions, thoughts and ideas clashing as questions were written, rewritten, and completely scratched out. Sans skimmed the pages, taking in everything Fate had deemed important to write down, to comment on. Some of the questions were just factual, harmless, and Sans picked up the pen left behind to mark out short replies here and there. He paused halfway through writing his first answer, taking in the difference in the handwriting.

Fate, though he didn't fully write in cursive, tended to leave the pen on the page between letters, creating an elegant look to the swift, decisive strokes. Sans's handwriting looked blocky in comparison, though his was much clearer in which letter was which, looking more calculated than Fate's. Sans wondered briefly how much that spoke of their characters.

The farther into the notebook he got, the harder it was for him to respond to some of them. He started skipping questions till he was skipping full pages, ignoring the ones that just hurt too much to even consider. About halfway through the notebook – around the time that he had started heavily interacting with the Fate of his memories – Sans came across a question that struck home and he threw the book across the room, livid that this Fate had the guile to ask such a question. He flinched when his body complained but he ignored it as he dropped back onto the mattress and hunkered down underneath the blankets, his back against the wall. He hadn't intended to go to sleep but he passed out shortly after settling.

He didn't dream. Instead, he woke slowly, coming to with the view of the room from earlier. A part of him was relieved but another, much larger part was not looking forward to what that meant. Someone had been in the room while he had been asleep because the notebook was now in the chair beside the bed. He glared at it.

After a while, Sans found himself itching to grab the notebook again. He rolled over and pressed his knees and forehead against the wall in an attempt to ignore it. It didn't work very well. Sans rolled onto his back and looked at the notebook, his mind running. He glanced at the door before back to the notebook. How long did he have till Papyrus would show up? That is, if he even existed in this timeline. Fate could have been lying to him.

He grunted as he pushed himself up, bones complaining but moving easier than the previous day. He leaned on his elbow and reached out across the space between the chair and bed, only to find that the chair was too far away. He gave it a look before sighing. He reached for his magic only to find that his magic was still too weak to do much more than hold him together. He moaned. Really?

Dejected, he swung his legs over the edge of the bed, sitting there as he waited through a head rush. Thinking nothing of it, he moved to stand.

He collapsed with a loud, resounding thud. Sans groaned, rolling off his arm that he had landed on painfully as the sound of rapid footfall filled the room. Thankfully nothing had broken. Hands were suddenly on him and his first instinct was to attack, but he recognized the bony appendages and his head snapped up as magic flared in his left eye to come face to face with Papyrus.

The moment between them stretched as they just stared at each other. Papyrus shifted, breaking the eye contact first in clear resignation but it was all Sans needed. He threw himself at his brother, burying his face into the larger skeleton's shoulder and letting out a choked sob of his brother's name.

He begged whatever deity was still listening to not let this be a dream, that the long arms wrapped tightly around him were real and the chest he was clinging to wouldn't vanish like so many others had. Papyrus had looked so healthy, so strong, that it had broken Sans's resolve and Sans couldn't bring himself to care, damn the consequences. Then again, always seeing Papyrus whole and happy was always the hardest thing to stay strong around. It was all that much harder in this strange place and just knowing that Papyrus was there allowed Sans to release part of his paranoia.

He found himself waking up again. The low rumble of both Fate and his brother whispering over his head soothed the urge to jerk awake. Instead of being tucked in the bed, he was curled up against Papyrus's chest on the mattress. Papyrus must have been leaning back against the wall because Sans could see the headboard in his grogginess and Sans knew that sitting in Papyrus's lap like this wouldn't last long if the lanky skeleton didn't have something to lean back against. He raised a hand and rubbed at an eye, inadvertently drawing his brother's attention to him. Papyrus sat up more, moving his arms so that Sans was sitting upright as well.

Papyrus beamed at him. "I'm glad you're awake again, brother. I've missed you."

Sans felt his soul clench at that. Without a thought, he spoke as he looked to Fate, "Give us a minute, Alex?"

Recognition flashed over Fate's gaze and Sans had to rethink what he had said which turned out to be a bit more difficult than he had thought it should have been. He had just called Fate something but it hadn't felt like Fate on his tongue. Fate didn't comment, though, and merely stood up from the chair with an affirming nod. He looked to Papyrus. "Howler if you need anything."

"Thank you, Alex," Papyrus replied.

Alex. He had said that, he had called Fate Alex. He had remembered something. Kind of. Sans frowned. No, it had been a slip of the tongue. He didn't know Fate, didn't remember him, but the idea of Alex Fatum stuck in his head for the human and Sans couldn't figure out how to think around it like he had. Sans watched Alex step out and close the door.

"We had been lucky to have paused near your room," Papyrus told him, gaining the smaller skeleton's attention. Sans looked up at Papyrus as he went on, "We had been going to meet with the others when we heard you fall." Papyrus gained a concerned look. "Does anything hurt? There weren't any obvious injuries."

Sans felt the smile form itself on his face. He shook his head. "I'm fine, Pap. It startled me more than anything."

Papyrus relaxed. "I'm glad."

Silence settled over them. After a moment, Sans shifted to rest his head against his brother's shoulder as he listened to his brother's soul pulse. He could always tell when Papyrus was debating on talking, even if he had never interacted with this specific Papyrus. If Sans waited long enough, Papyrus would talk. But a thought nagged at him, drawing him down into numbness. He didn't know this Papyrus, didn't remember anything about him. He knew his brother, would always know his brother, but a part of him hated the fact that he didn't remember anything about the two of them, that all he could remember was a dream. Clearly this Papyrus was different from the one he remembered. He wasn't talking at an obnoxiously loud level, wasn't wearing the battle body. He didn't seem to be naïve. In fact, this Papyrus was so much more and Sans couldn't remember any of it.

Sans tensed when a bony hand was placed on the side of his head and he jerked back, looking up at Papyrus. Papyrus had a look on his face that Sans had never seen before. At least, not that he could remember. Papyrus looked older with concern and worry in his expression. And it seemed that this version of his brother knew him better than he realized as Papyrus spoke, "Alex warned us all that you have Dissociative Acute Amnesia. I don't pretend to know what that is fully but he did explain that it means you have different memories than what you had before you Fell." Sans covered Papyrus's hand on his cheek but Papyrus didn't let him remove it as he pressed, "No matter what, no matter the memories you have, we'll create new ones and we'll learn about each other all over again." Papyrus smiled at him and Sans's mind overlapped the image of the Papyrus in his dream smiling that same grin. "You are my brother and nothing will ever change that."

Sans gave a watery smile though his eyes stayed dry. "Thanks, bro." Sans rested his head on Papyrus's shoulder again and Papyrus shifted enough to curl around him. "That means a lot to me."

They settled in silence once more and Sans ended up dosing off to the lull of his brother's soul. When he awoke, he was tucked back into the bed, the chair beside his bed occupied by his brother. Papyrus was reading, glasses held in place by magic. Sans took in the sight, startled. He didn't realize that Papyrus had needed glasses. But then, that would explain quite a bit from his dream. Sans shifted, moving to sit up. Papyrus took notice in an instant and was up and helping Sans before the smaller brother had his full weight on his arm. Papyrus aided him without a word, without so much of a change in expression. Sans felt magic settle on his cheeks to create a blue blush. "Thanks, bro," Sans offered softly, not daring to look at Papyrus.

"Of course, brother," Papyrus commented, taking the glasses from his face as he picked up the folder he had been reading. "How did you sleep?"

"Like the dead," Sans replied without a thought.

Papyrus chuckled – actually chuckled! – at the lame joke. He sat down, pointing his glasses at Sans. "That was a lame joke. You are far from dead as any monster I know, Sans."

Sans shrugged, grinning. "With as _bone_ tired as I am, I'm surprised I haven't kicked the bucket yet."

Papyrus's look, though amused and happy, took on a sad note and Sans worried that he had done something wrong. "I've missed this," Papyrus softly spoke.

Sans tore his gaze away as his soul clenched painfully in his chest. He didn't need the reminder that this Papyrus was not the one he was used to interacting with, that he was not the Sans that Papyrus expected. Frustration bubbled beneath the surface. Why did he have to have this stupid amnesia?

The mattress dipped as arms wrapped around him. Sans found himself being pressed against Papyrus's chest, the lankier skeleton having settled beside him on the bed. Sans felt Papyrus rest the side of his jaw against the back of Sans's head. Sans was suddenly aware that he wasn't as small as he had been in his dream, which just made the situation worse. He pushed Papyrus away, suddenly revolted with himself in a way he didn't understand. Papyrus let his arms drop from him but Sans's hands remained splayed across the taller skeleton's chest, head hung between tense shoulders. "Sorry," he offered with a choked smile Papyrus couldn't actually see. "Just….Sorry."

Papyrus covered one of his hands with his own, offering, "You have nothing to be sorry for. That was rude of me to say."

Sans shook his head, urging as he looked up, "No, you had every right. I'm the imposter. I'm the one that isn't who I should be. I-I-"

 _I'm the one who's broken_.

He was shaking so hard, his bones were rattling and he hadn't even realized he was gripping Papyrus's shirt till he released it, jerking back. A choked sob escaped him, turmoil suffocating him as his back collided with the wall. Papyrus followed him every step of the way, a hand sliding behind Sans's skull to keep Sans from cracking his head against the wall too. Papyrus pushed Sans's head down between his knees, words flowing from him that Sans didn't understand but as Papyrus rubbed his back, he understood the calming magic swirling around him. Papyrus's magic was much calmer in this world, more solid or grounded but still as strikingly bright and warm as he had felt in the dream. Sans found himself being lulled out of his panic attack and into just crying. He curled around himself as he sobbed; wails of despair escaped him as it all came crashing down too fast. Papyrus's magic never wavered around him, solid and warm, holding him together when Sans thought his own magic would fail.

Papyrus's hand never left his back.

Sans felt disgusting when he came to. He had never broken down like that in all the resets. Yeah, he had cried before – he wasn't soulless – but that kind of despair and wrongness made him feel unclean. He was under the covers again but he didn't make any attempt to move. The chair beside his bed was empty, which was for the better even as his soul seized. He burrowed beneath the blankets only to freeze as his back pressed against something that was not the wall.

Sans was at a loss at finding his brother behind him, practically spooning him with an arm draped over Sans's waist. His brother's slow breath was soft against the back of his shoulders. Sans tried not to wake Papyrus up but Papyrus was already awake from Sans shifting to get under the blankets. Papyrus pulled Sans close with the arm around his waist, pressing his face into his brother's back. Sans wasn't sure what to do with any of this, especially when Papyrus started to speak.

"You are not an imposter," Papyrus calmly stated. "You are Sans, my brother, and will always be as such, no matter how much you do or do not remember."

Sans sank into the mattress at Papyrus's words, feeling hollow inside. He didn't believe those words.

They stayed like that long enough that Sans dozed again. A soft knock on the door brought his awareness back to the room but he didn't react. He felt the mattress dip as Papyrus clambered off the bed. Sans wondered how long it would take for him to doze off again if he kept his eyes shut. There was a click at the door before it opened. Sans wondered whose idea it had been to lock the bedroom door.

"Hey. Food run from Toriel." Alex's voice was like a calming balm to his frayed nerves and Sans had the sudden urge to scrub himself of it. He didn't even _know_ Alex and here the man was soothing some foreign part of Sans just by talking. Gods above this was going to get old very quickly. At least it was someone Sans had interacted with previously.

"Thank you, Alex," Papyrus replied, voice solemn. There was a clattering sound and the sound of dishes knocking gently against each other. Sans heard the tray being placed on the nightstand near his head. There was a pause in the sounds of the room before Papyrus's hand stroked Sans's skull. It had taken everything Sans had not to flinch at the sudden touch. Yeah, he really wanted to get over that too. "Should he be sleeping so much?"

"Yes," Alex spoke, the door clicking shut. "He'd been in a coma for almost eight weeks. His body – more specifically his magic – is not used to having to deal with motion and stress." The chair scrapped against the floor as the bed dipped beside Sans. Papyrus hadn't stopped stroking his head yet so Sans assumed Alex was the one to sit in the chair. "It'll actually take quite a while before Sans doesn't need to nap throughout the day to maintain his strength."

"We do not need to give Sans more reason to be lazy," Papyrus countered, clearly not pleased with the idea but the thought made Sans smile. He could see the look his brother was giving Alex even with his eyes closed.

Alex chuckled. "He only seemed lazy to you because of how hard he worked in the Lab. Sans would outstrip me on a good day with how much stress he would put himself under and his only outlet ever seemed to be spending time with you."

"And you," Papyrus added, sounding confused.

There was a brief pause. "We took breaks together. I wouldn't necessarily call that down time for him. When he was here, it was business. Even after hours and on breaks."

Papyrus's hand had stilled on Sans's skull. "Sans was always working."

A heavy silence settled for a while as Sans tried to figure out what exactly that had meant. As far as Sans remembered, he never had worked in an actual lab. There was the one that had been in Hotland and he had ever only stepped in there to deal with Alphys. The room under his house was just a place he dabbled when he needed a break or to hide from reality. Was he really a scientist after all? Would explain a good number of things. But what had been his focus? He couldn't remember anything specific about the lab in his dream beyond a tarp covered object, the thoughts of a few blueprints, and a picture of three people with "don't forget" written on it. Funny. He couldn't remember the actual image even though he had handled the picture several times.

Alex broke the silence. "I met up with the others." Papyrus went back to running his hand over Sans's skull. "They're worried and had asked how Sans was. I told them that he was fine, awake." There was a pause. "He won't be able to walk for at least a week. It's going to take some time for his body to get used to being used again. Even then, he'll most likely be walking with some sort of assistance, be it a cane or crutches of some sort, for anywhere between four to eight weeks. We'll have to be patient and keep Sans busy. It's going to be a frustrating process." Sans was not looking forward to it either. "I told the others not to mention anything that hasn't already been previously discussed."

"Why?"

Alex chuckled. "They asked the same question. As did Sans, though not quite as calmly." The chair creaked. "Whether Sans remembers or not, we both have had experiences with those that have suffered from Dissociative Acute Amnesia before his Fall. The majority of those diagnosed reacted badly to having their history told to them. I doubt even Sans would be an exception to that rule."

Papyrus's hand stilled on Sans's skull once more as the lanky skeleton shifted. "I take it the others were not too fond of that idea."

Alex gave a snort of a laugh, his tone dry and sharp. "They tried to argue against it but they care a lot about Sans."

Sans got the distinct feeling that Alex was hiding something. It seemed Papyrus had a similar feeling or had seen more than Sans had heard because the lanky skeleton asked, "They didn't trust your word."

"Why would they?" Alex challenged, bitter. "They still blame me for his condition."

Sans eyes snapped open as Papyrus leapt to his feet, shouting, "But you had nothing to do with that!"

"And you're the only one that believes me," Alex countered, getting to his feet as well. But the dejected look on Alex's face eased some of the panic that had seized Sans in the first place. Alex shook his head, his expression changing into one of self loathing. "I know there was nothing I could have done, no way of knowing this was going to occur, but still, I…."

Papyrus rested a hand on Alex's shoulder and Alex covered it with one of his own, meeting Papyrus's gaze. The skeleton smiled gently. "You have no reason to still be carrying your guilt, Alex. You have done plenty for Sans and myself over these last weeks to prove you had no hand in his coma."

Alex's expression closed off. "The others don't see it like you do, Pap."

"They do not have to," Papyrus stated plainly. "What matters is that you had found Sans, saved him, and have been helping me make sure he has stayed alive these last weeks to finally awaken. We'll get through this together."

Alex took in a breath, nodding. He was still guarded but he seemed at ease with Papyrus's words. Sans closed his eyes, mind racing. How unknown was Alex to everyone that they wouldn't trust him? How different were the others to what he remembered? But, then, how had he succumbed to a coma and why did Alex blame himself? Sans fell asleep with turmoil in his mind. It was a miracle he hadn't had nightmares because of it.

He woke to his brother at his bedside grinning. Papyrus presented the breakfast he had brought and chatted away, talking about anything and everything yet nothing specific. Sans found himself halfway through breakfast when Alex came in. Alex and Papyrus talked away as they waited for Sans to finish and, while Sans didn't really know what they were talking about, he was glad they were acting so casual around him.

The instant he had eaten all that he could – it was surprising how lacking of an appetite he had after being out for almost eight weeks – the tray was taken away and the physical therapy began.

If Sans said it was exhausting, it would have been a gross understatement. Alex had him not only working on walking, but just moving in general. Push-ups, pull-ups, crunches, stretches, and countless other exercises wore Sans out quickly. They stopped for lunch before going at it some more. Twice they stopped for Sans to take a nap. At the end of the day, Sans was passing out during dinner but both his brother and Alex made sure he ate as much as he could before letting him crash for the night.

The following morning started way too early for Sans's liking.

The cycle repeated day after day and, while Sans wanted desperately to flop on the nearest flat surface and pass out, he discovered that the inability to move as he normally had was an excruciatingly infuriating motivator. Especially when the sixth and seventh day rolled to an end and he found himself not as exhausted but still just as shaky and weak as he had felt at the top of the week.

"I think that's enough for today, Sans," Alex commented, wiping sweat from his brow as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'll get dinner."

Sans scowled at the human's back as Alex left the room even as his legs shook from exertion. "I'm fine for a bit more."

"Brother," Papyrus urged, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder.

Sans looked up at Papyrus to find the skeleton looking exhausted. Guilt seeped into his soul for who knew how many times that week. Papyrus had been using his magic to make sure that Sans didn't fall. While this wasn't the dream where one hit would take him out, Sans was still very frail. The last thing Sans needed was a broken bone. He shuddered at the thought but no one thought it was an odd concept. Guess it was just another warping of the dream.

Sans sighed, nodding as Papyrus helped him sit on the edge of the bed. Sans wouldn't admit it out loud how concerned he was about the lack of exhaustion gnawing at his bones. He had been less exhausted the two previous nights as well and he had dreamt – something he was desperately trying to avoid. The dream he had been in during the coma had diminished into a nightmare near the end and he knew he had that fuel in his mind to create horrific imagery. There had been too many times in the dream where he had woken many times from nightmares of the timelines he was subjected to experiencing. If he could avoid that here, that would be great.

Alex returned with three meals and the three of them ate in Sans's room. Sans still found himself nodding off to the soft lull of his brother and Alex talking but it did not ease the worry gnawing at the back of his skull. He prayed to whatever deity existed that he didn't have a nightmare that night.

Alex left with the used dinnerware, leaving Papyrus to tuck Sans in and say goodnight. When the lanky skeleton turned off his light and closed the door, Sans found that he couldn't sleep, stress eating away at him and, whether it was truly not being exhausted enough or from the stress of the possibly of having a nightmare, Sans fell into a fitful sleep.

The flash of a silver blade sliced at Papyrus's throat.

It flashed again as it cut him down shortly thereafter.

He screamed as his magic lashed out.

Papyrus lurched awake at the sudden scream, his magic feeling as if it had turned to ice around his bones. He threw his covers back as he spared a glance at the clock. 02:17 AM glared at him through the darkness. His bare feet scrapped against the floor as he stumbled to the door. He yanked it open and dashed out, colliding bodily with a familiar form.

"Watch it," came the gruff reply as familiar, strong hands kept Papyrus from going very far. Papyrus looked up at Undyne. She didn't grin at him like she normally would. "You know who screamed?"

"Sans." He gripped her arms, urging, "Please, I need you to fetch Alex for me. I'll go check on Sans."

Undyne nodded and took off as Papyrus made his way to his brother's room.

Alex jerked awake as his door was kicked in and banged off the wall. He squinted at the door as he reached for his glasses. "What in the–"

Undyne cut him off, stalking over to him. "Sans. The bonehead has had a nightmare."

Alex was throwing off the covers and rolling out of bed before she had even finished talking. Undyne's hands hovered close to him as his feet got tangled in his sheets but he managed to keep upright enough to grab his desk chair before he could greet the floor with his face. He yanked the lab coat off the chair and started for the door. Undyne took off at a jog, beating him out of the room, but Alex kept pace with her down the hall as he pulled the lab coat over the undershirt he was wearing.

The trip was short. Alex's room had been placed close to Sans's for a reason but when they approached the room, Undyne slowed down and summoned a spear into her hand. Alex shuddered, the sensation of Sans's magic brushing over his skin causing him to instinctually bristle. That was not a good sign. Undyne stopped at the door, looking to him. Alex couldn't spare her the glance. He slowly crossed the threshold into Sans's room, quickly taking in the situation.

Papyrus was already there trying to talk Sans down but that only made Alex uneasy. He quickly crossed to Papyrus and gently pulled him back as the first signs of an attack came into existence. Papyrus gave a startled yelp as he was passed off to Undyne. She pulled him back as Papyrus exclaimed, "No! I was helping him!"

"Undyne, get Pap to the door and protect him," Alex ordered, the attacks solidifying into bones.

"But I can help!" Papyrus argued, fighting against Undyne's hold. "I want to help!"

"And if you get injured at this point in Sans's recovery, there's no getting our Sans back," Alex countered sharply, though his glance towards the pair was apologetic. "Please, Papyrus. Let me do my job."

Papyrus scowled but followed Undyne to the door. He stepped just past the threshold before turning around and facing the scene. Undyne placed herself before him but didn't block his view.

Trusting Undyne and Papyrus to let him do this, he slowly approached Sans. The small skeleton was leaning forward, one arm wrapped around his chest and the other hand over his left eye. Sans was shaking as the magic rolled off him in a way that reminding Alex briefly of the surface of the sun. Funny. He seemed to like that analogy when it came to magic.

"Sans," he called out, stepping around a few bones that were protruding through the floor. He urged, keeping his voice even and calm, "Come on, buddy. Time to wake up."

Sans twitched on the bed and Alex jerked back, taking a step back as he twisted his body to the side. A bone narrowly missed his face, the other one missing his chest. Alex gritted his teeth. He crossed to the bed in two steps and knelt on the mattress. An attack was solidifying before Sans as if there was an enemy standing before the skeleton and, while Alex was grateful they were just bones, it was clear Sans would impale himself if they were released. Ignoring his heart pounding painfully in his chest, he knelt before the stout skeleton.

The buzz of Sans's magic was almost overwhelming but Alex pushed through it, desperate to reach the monster still caught in a night terror. He couldn't run like his instincts were screaming at him to do. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and Alex was suddenly out of time. His hand snapped out as he used a brutally commanding voice that had unknowingly been used by Fate in Sans's dream.

"Wake up," he called out as his hand made contact with Sans's shoulder.

Sans snapped awake as the bones were released and impaled Alex's back. Alex was thrown into him. Sans grasped at the human with a start, not understanding as his right hand gripped the back of Alex's lab coat, his left going to Alex's upper arm. Sans's breath hitched as he realized that the lab coat was quickly turning red due to several of _his_ bone attacks protruding from Alex's back like porcupine spines. Just beyond the focus of his view of the injuries, he caught sight of a glitching health bar, one that was too distorted to make out any of the stats on and, though it disappeared when he tried to focus on it, it sent a shudder of horror through him. Even if it had been a figment of his imagination, the thought of what it could have meant left him shaking more than the night terror had.

Alex had recovered as quickly as he could and pulled back, cutting off Sans's view of his back. Sans locked his horrified gaze onto Alex's face. Alex had his left eye squeezed shut out of pain and his half crooked smile was tight. "Welcome to the waking world, sleepy bones," Alex joked. Sans felt like throwing up.

Undyne and Papyrus appeared at their side, Papyrus instantly wrapping himself around his brother and spewing a string of apologies. Sans only half listened to Papyrus trying to make amends for "not waking him from such a horrible nightmare". He watched as Alex collapsed against Undyne at the same moment Papyrus's hug forced Sans to let the human go. Undyne carefully helped Alex off the bed, the fish monster incredibly careful. It was startling for Sans to see her be so gentle. It made his brain do a weird misfire. Sans's hand jerked up and gripped at Papyrus's arms as he forced out, "Alex, I…"

Alex stopped – much to Undyne's indignation – and turned to look at Sans. He gave the smaller skeleton a smile, waving him off. "I'll be fine. This is what I'm here for."

Sans couldn't tell if that was suppose to make him feel better as Undyne resumed her half-carry escort of Alex towards the door. Sans buried himself into his brother's embrace. He blocked out the world, ignoring Alphys's voice that cut through instructing Undyne on where to go. Silence fell as the door clicked shut and it was stifling. Papyrus must have been bothered by it as well because the taller skeleton voiced, "How about we go for a walk, Sans. I can push you out to the grounds and we can watch the snow come down."

Sans caught the odd waver in Papyrus's voice, the one that spoke of carefully chosen words. Sans wasn't dense. Someone had urged Papyrus to get Sans out of the room as soon as possible so that they could change the soiled sheets. Sans pressed farther into Papyrus at the thought of the injuries he had caused the strange human. "Sure, Pap. But I don't want to be pushed around."

Papyrus frowned and gave him a quizzical look, though Sans could see that Papyrus already had a guess to what Sans had meant. Sans forced a small smile. It felt weird. He hoped it didn't look weird. "Can you pass me my crutches?"

While he would have much preferred the cane, they had just started working on it the day before and he knew that he was far too exhausted to keep himself upright with one stick.

Papyrus pulled back the sheets still tangled around Sans swiftly and in such a way that Sans didn't even get the chance to see if they had any blood on them or not even if he had wanted to. Papyrus helped him to sit on the edge of the bed before passing over the metal crutches. Sans hid his grateful sigh as Papyrus's magic wrapped around him as he situated the crutches where they needed to be. With the aid of his brother's magic, he was more or less upright and hobbling towards the door. Even with his magic wrapped around Sans, Papyrus kept as close to his brother as was possible.

Sans took the lead once they were in the hallway and hobbled around two humans he didn't recognize. At first, he just picked a random direction, letting his mind wander. A memory half there took over and Sans found himself standing before an Alex that looked a bit more up kept, younger, and healthier.

He gave the younger man a look. Alex laughed. It was warm, soft, and amused; all things that Sans found were missing from the Alex he knew. Alex raised his hands, offering, "Come on, Sans. We have to figure out if someone can gain a tolerance to your magic and there's no one better qualified than me."

Sans felt his magic stir, his left eye coming to life as he withdrew his left hand from its pocket. He made a face, not at all ok with this situation. "I don't see why it has to be you, Fatum. I've known you for a whole, what? Month now?"

"Two," Alex corrected automatically, his expression becoming soft. "And it's Alex. You using my last name keeps making me think you're calling me phantom and I ain't dead yet."

Something flickered through Alex's gaze too quick for Sans to make out but he was sure it wasn't positive. Sans smirked despite the horribly timed joke on Alex's part, joking in return in an attempt to dissipate the tense atmosphere. "Your Fate ain't that cruel, _Alex_ ," Sans teased.

Alex laughed at the play on his last name, clearly appreciating the attempt. "Thus, you get me as the guinea pig. Sides, there's no one better qualified in the labs."

Sans scoffed, encompassing Alex's soul in magic. Alex breath hitched as the human's hand snapped up to cover the glowing heart shape in his chest.

"We could always use an intern."

Alex gave a bark of a laugh, refocusing his gaze on Sans. Sans frowned. He couldn't tell if it was a trick of the light or if Alex was indeed paler than what was normal for him. "We need those to be left un-traumatized, thank you very much."

Sans gave a one shoulder shrug as he felt sweat bead down the back of his skull. Alex hadn't dropped his hand. In fact, he now had a vice grip on the fabric over the shape and he could feel the human's soul fluctuating. This was a really bad idea and he gave Alex one last out. "You sure you want to do this."

The smirk he received should have been answer enough. It was dry, humorless, and every warning bell in Sans's head went off. "I'm not backing out so you might as well go through with it."

Sans let out a sharp burst of air through his teeth. "Your funeral," he muttered as he raised his left hand.

He regretted his words not even a moment later.

He threw his hand out to the side till his arm was straight. He misjudged how effective his magic was going to be and watched in horror as Alex flew across the room and slammed back first into the wall before he could even begin to correct his mistake. The choked gasp cut through Sans as he lost hold of his magic. Alex slumped to the floor, a gasp of pain rushing through the human. Panic flooded Sans as Alex remained slumped over. Even from where he stood, Sans could hear Alex fighting to breath.

"Oh Gods," Sans uttered and ran over. He slid to a stop on his knees at Alex's side. His hands hovered over Alex as he rushed, "I was joking about the whole funeral thing."

Alex attempted to laugh but it came out as a wheeze. Sans gave in to the urge to touch Alex and aided the man in sitting up. Alex rested his head against the wall behind him, muttering, "I've already got one foot in the grave so it doesn't really matter."

Sans tensed, his wide eyes snapping to Alex's face. "That's not funny, Fatum."

Alex opened an eye even as sweat started beading his forehead. Alex attempted to give a crooked grin but it came out a grimace. "Sorry. I have this bad habit of not warning people about my condition. Just…just give me a minute."

Sans sat back and placed the bottoms of his feet together. He leaned forward as he gripped his ankles, watching Alex. It took a while but Alex eventually got his breathing under control even though his hand hadn't released its white knuckled grip. His face was still ashen and speckled with sweat. Alex opened his eyes but kept them focused on the ceiling. "I have Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy, a very complicated name for simply not having a fully developed left ventricle. It inhibits me from doing anything too strenuous but, thankfully," he smirked at Sans, "science isn't generally strenuous."

Sans didn't get the joke.

Alex lost the humor in his expression as he returned his gaze to the ceiling. "Smoking isn't helping much of anything but it's a habit I'm finding a hard time kicking. Docs think I may have some lung issues too, but they're equating it to the smoking." He gave a dark chuckle. "Yeah, no. My lungs have never worked right, right along with my heart." He flinched and pressed his hand harder into his chest. Sans convulsively released his ankles but Alex was already relaxing. Dropping his hand, he sat up and looked to Sans. "Shall we try again? We need to see if I can't build a tolerance to your magic."

Sans sat there gaping at him. "Y…You can't be serious! You nearly died!" Sans argued, throwing his hands up. Alex laughed. Sans could hear the hint of strain on the edges.

"I'm fine now, Sans. Besides, if we just sit here, I may keel over dead from boredom." Alex stood but his posture was no longer the same loose, easy going it had been earlier but Alex still offered Sans a hand and a smile. "I'm more useful alive."

Sans took Aex's hand and got to his feet, fully and completely agreeing with the man's last statement though he didn't voice it. He watched Alex return to his starting point, seeing the defensive way Alex moved. Sans had the distinct impression that he had lost a large part of his partner's trust and he wasn't sure if it was something he had done or if it was something he could fix.

Sans blinked and found himself before a door with a keypad, the memory fading and leaving behind a strange sensation in Sans's bones and a weird taste on the back of his tongue. Without thinking, he unlocked the door with a flicker of fingers. The door opened to a mess of a lab.

It was Sans's lab.

He recognized it, remembered the mess and remembered all the stuff in said mess. The impression of what had happened slammed into him like a physical blow and Sans's legs gave out from under him. Papyrus gave a startled cry as his magic tightened around Sans.

"Sans. Are you alright? What happened?"

"I'm ok, Pap," he offered softly, getting his feet back under him.

Sans made his way over to the computer terminal. He was aware of the tightness of his soul that had nothing to do with his brother's magic and rubbed at the dampness prickling the bones of his cheeks. Sans flicked the systems on, glancing at Papyrus once to see the skeleton standing just inside the door. Sans flopped into the desk chair and pulled up the files he was looking for.

He was not surprised to hear a soft intake of air from behind him several minutes later. He glanced over his shoulder at Alex standing just a few feet behind his chair, glasses gone and eyes skimming the screen. His lab coat and undershirt had been replaced with the button up shirt from the previous day. It was unbuttoned at the moment, revealing a wrapped chest that he had an arm wrapped around. "You found his notes," Alex spoke breathlessly.

It wasn't a question.

Sans didn't answer but he felt the human's eyes fall onto the back of his skull. Alex's voice gained strength as he stated, almost accusingly, "You've been using his work."

Sans shrugged, offering, "I had every right to."

A deep voice spoke out. "Every right to do what?"

Sans glanced towards the door, realizing that the others had drifted in. Asgore was looking at him, having been the one to ask the question. Sans looked to Alex and found the human looking at him. Sans gave a shrug, making an off gesture at Alex in a half assed way of telling the other scientist to go for it. Sans wasn't sure he could even be able to voice it at the moment. Too much was going on in his soul for him to make sense of so much.

Alex sighed and explained, "Sans has not only found but has apparently been utilizing the research of one Dr. W.D. Gaster, one of the first Royal Scientists of the Underground." Alex looked to Sans but Sans kept his focused feigned on the scrolling text. "Though, I have no idea what the mad man's work has to do with our current project. Neither of us have had a need to touch any of his old studies."

"Old studies?" Papyrus inquired.

"Gaster had done some research into amnesia," Sans interjected, pulling up a few files. Alex glanced over the files, recognition flickering through his eyes. "Sadly, there had been very little of his notes actually published."

"I had forgotten about these," Alex commented. "You found his unpublished notes?"

"What does that have to do with what you're doing now?" Undyne snapped.

Alex looked to her, offering, "Both of us had done a few studies around amnesia during our schooling, though we had been in separate years and classes so our studies had been done individually. In our spare time over the last two years, we would talk about our old studies and the research we had done. Two of our experiments had risen out of some of those conversations."

"Somehow we had both done a study around Dissociative and Dissociative Acute Amnesia. Gaster had published some of his notes on amnesia in general," Sans muttered, gaining everyone's attention. "We later discovered that every subject with any form of Acute Amnesia outside of Gaster's study of amnesia had some sort of connection to the doc."

Alex frowned at Sans, quickly reaching a conclusion he wasn't sure Sans had been aiming at. Still, he looked at Papyrus. The taller skeleton was frowning at his brother but it seemed he hadn't connected the dots fully. It was clear Papyrus knew his brother had meant something behind that statement but didn't know what. Alphys was the one to present the final piece to Papyrus. Alex watched him as Alphys asked, "D-do you have s-some sort of c-c-connection to Dr. Gaster, Sans?"

Shock warped Papyrus's expression before it was changed by fear as Sans gave a dry chortle, his gaze still on the screen before him. "Apparently we had been experiments of sorts. _Apparently_ , a long time ago, we had been his play things."

Betrayal flashed across Papyrus's face while Sans's expression remained emotionless. Alex reached out and touched Papyrus's arm. Papyrus pulled away, leaving Alex's hand suspended in the air.

It was like someone had draped a blanket over the room. The air thickened. Sans reacted to the sudden tension, turning in his chair to catch sight of his brother's face. Sans moved without thinking. He got up to walk over to his brother's side but, without the crutches, he was unable to keep himself upright and he collapsed. Thankfully, Papyrus was still as quick as ever, wrapping his magic around Sans and keeping the skeleton suspended mid collapse long enough to reach out and wrap his hands around Sans to support him physically.

Sans, in turn, gripped at Papyrus, urging with a frustrated expression, "I have no idea why I haven't told you, Pap." He sat down at Papyrus's guidance. "I can't remember why I never did but I would bet that timing was a big factor."

The blatant reminder of Sans's lack of memories was like a slap to the face for all present. It was clear Sans had remembered a good portion of information but it was still not enough for the stout skeleton. Papyrus, for his part, accepted the apology for what it was with a soft smile. He reached out and covered Sans's hands with his own. "It's ok. All that matters now is what happens next." He frowned. "But I don't understand. How were we experiments? I don't recall this Dr. Gaster at all."

Sans shook his head. Whether it had been a genuine answer to the question or his attempt to not tell Papyrus wasn't divulged as Undyne snapped, "Look, what does any of this have to do with now? What the hell was this bloke working on?"

"Life and magic," Sans supplied, frowning as he turned to the computer, "or so I've been able to decipher. I only have partial notes for a lot of what he worked on. There are mentions of other experiments, things possibly dealing with time and the mind." Sans rubbed at his face and growled, "I can't figure out what all this has to do with what had happened before my coma." He threw his hand out – thankfully away from Papyrus – as he turned a magic burning gaze on Alex. "I know this is my lab. I _know_ this research. I _know_ I had been doing something but I can't remember WHAT!" The magic flared before sputtering out as quickly as it had come, tears quickly taking the magic's place in Sans's eyes. Sans rubbed at the tears but the sob still broke free. "I-I can't help but feel that if I can't recover my memory, we're all screwed."

The silence was heavy, only filled with the hum from the computer and the noise from the hall. There was a pause before Alex stepped forward, placing a hand on the stout skeleton's shoulder. He gained a watery glare. Alex doesn't offer him a smile like he would have. It wouldn't have come out right anyways. "In some way, that's true." He ignored the collective gasp from their audience. Honestly, they should have expected him to be that blunt after knowing him for so long. "You are the only one that knows the connection to Dr. Gaster's research and our seventh experiment.

Sans straightened. "Seventh."

Alex flinched at his slip but took it in stride as he shrugged under Sans's demanding gaze. "Guess a history lesson wouldn't necessarily hurt."

The others gathered in closer, clearly understanding that this was going to be an explanation that they wanted to hear. Asgore brought a chair over for Alex as the human started to sit on the floor but Alex waved him off with a smile and sat cross legged a few feet from Sans. Papyrus quickly followed suit and sat on the floor next to Sans's chair, a hand still on his brother's arm.

Alex rubbed at his face, looking exhausted, but he met Sans's gaze with a steady one of his own and a soft smile. "We live in the Underground, we being the collective of humans and monsters. The Overworld, as it's been dubbed, was poisoned due to the war between monsters and humans, forcing those that survived the toxic attacks to retreat into the Undergrounds. Each Underground is a long tunnel cut off from one another. Each one started out as a replica of the other but some handled the wear of age better than others. Our Underground started falling apart almost as quickly as we were able to seal it shut. We were forced to dig deeper and shortly after the Ruins were sealed off, the original seal broke, flooding the Ruins with the toxic atmosphere."

Alex made an off gesture. "The majority of this happened long before my lifetime and even yours and Papyrus's. Though, I'm sure you two were created closer to the Ruins being sealed than I was."

The dry smirk that graced Alex's face with that statement was very reminiscent of Fate and the reminder of both the phantom and his dream was not welcomed. Sans suppressed his magic as best he could but his left eye still flickered with magic. Alex continued on, not seeming to notice the brief color change. "It was assumed that the seal between the Underground and the Ruins would hold long enough for us to find a solution. It didn't. 100 years after the Ruins had been sealed off, the Overworld's atmosphere was detected when several kids were found dead near the door." There was shifting from both Asgore and Toriel but Alex pressed on. "The leak was contained but there's still a push to find a solution. You and I are part of a network of scientists in several Undergrounds that are attempting to fix the problem with the Overworld atmosphere. We were on our seventh experiment in two years and…"

The words fell short as Alex gathered his thoughts. He gained a soft, pained look as he reoriented himself. "Gods, it had to have been less than a month before your accident, but you had started muttering about being close. You had done that for about two weeks before I finally got out of you that you had been tinkering with some old notes and, while you thought you had some way of getting our seventh experiment to work, you wanted to share when you had actual proof of concept. I conceded and didn't push after that. I had no reason to. But, about the same time you started muttering about being close, you started to have night terrors. I hadn't pinned two and two together till…"

He let the words hang, nodding towards the screen behind Sans. It still bore Gaster's research. "I mean, nightmares were common between the two of us. With the stress of our responsibilities, it was to be expected, but the night terrors were new. At least, me waking you from them was."

Alphys called out from where she was sitting next to Undyne, wringing her hands. "W-were you really w-w-working with such h-horrible information?"

Sans frowned at her, confused. She blushed and ducked her head. She stuttered something that sounded close to "nevermind". Alex gained Sans's attention with a hand on the skeleton's knee. Alex explained, "Dr. Gaster's known for his not-so-humane research in his later years. You may have his notes and remember quite of bit from them, but many of us have only heard the horror stories. Don't get me wrong. The monster was brilliant. But he was also a very wicked monster. He reached a level of...well, violence that a scientist should never come close to."

Alex tightened his grip on Sans's knee. "I used to know you and know you well. If you were dabbling in Dr. Gaster's work, it was for a reason. I still trust you. Both in this and our seventh experiment. You haven't let me down yet." Alex leaned back, offering a half cocked grin that held a hint of a grimace. It was clear Alex trusted Sans enough to not push the issue but Sans wished he would. Sans didn't even know why he wanted Alex to push him. "Just, no sciency stuff till after your memories have returned a bit more, alright? No need to go and get yerself blown up again so soon."

The laughter in the room broke the tension and Sans conceded with a nod. A look flickered through Alex's gaze. Sans knew that the man was well aware he hadn't gotten an oral promise out of the monster and Sans could tell that the man understood why. Sans was not going to make a promise he could not keep.

Alex stifled a yawn as the others started leaving. Sans looked to Papyrus as the lanky skeleton stood. He found that, while he was wired after all that, he was still tired and bed sounded like a wonderful thing. He took his crutches from Papyrus and stood carefully, his brother's magic wrapped snugly around him.

Sans waited as Papyrus carefully helped Alex to his feet. The human swayed but he managed to remain upright. Still, Asgore had wandered over and placed a large hand on the slight human's shoulder. "Allow me to walk you to your room, Alex."

Alex gave the large monster a soft smile. "I'll be fine, sir."

"Let him walk you, Alex," Papyrus spoke out. The human turned his gaze to the skeleton but surprised Sans by giving in without a fight, heeding Papyrus's words. Papyrus waited till Asgore had started towards the door with Alex before turning to his brother. "Ready?"

Sans nodded and followed his brother out of the lab.

Papyrus snagged Sans the following day around midday. The duo ate a breakfast based lunch in Sans's room before the pair went outside and wandered the grounds of the lab. Sans barely spoke as Papyrus talked and talked, telling him all about what Sans had missed during his coma, from what recipes Papyrus had learned to what was new in the entertainment industry. Sans only had to reassure Papyrus once that he was quite alright just listening. Being able to just spend time alone with his brother was enough for him but to be able to listen to and watch Papyrus gush happily over how awesome his life was was icing on the cake.

"I am not sure how I would have made it through your coma without Alex's help," Papyrus commented off handedly as the pair rested on a fallen tree.

Sans blinked at his brother, curious. "What do you mean?"

Papyrus looked at him as if he did not realize he had just spoken out loud. When it finally registered that he had, in fact, spoken out loud, he grinned. "Alex is the one that found you and he stayed by your side to make sure that I did not worry about your wellbeing nor feel guilty about getting rest or leaving the lab. He even went out of his way to make sure I was getting enough food and rest," Papyrus blushed, looking away, "even going as far as drugging me so that I could rest when the worry got too much for me."

The blush vanished as Papyrus gained a dejected look. "I just wish he had not done so by sacrificing his own health."

Sans tensed, sitting straighter on the log. Papyrus gave him a worried look and Sans forced himself to relax. He asked, "What do you mean?"

Papyrus turned his gaze to his hands. "I know he was not eating well but I could not find a way to get him to eat. He would always say he was not hungry when I offered him some of my meal. Some nights, when I woke in the middle of the night worried, I would pause at your room to check on you and he would always be in the chair beside your bed. He would usually be up but there were moments when he was slumped in the chair asleep. It could not have been overly comfortable but I was afraid that if I covered him up or tried to move him, he would wake and he always looked so tired." Papyrus shot Sans a soft smile. "He never complained, though. He always kept me company when I sat by your bed waiting for you to wake up."

Sans gave his brother a half smile as a part of him couldn't help but wonder if there was more to the story. There had to be a reason why Alex would sacrifice himself for him, right?

The following days passed quickly. While small amounts of knowledge returned, Sans found that the progress was not where he would have liked it. He kept finding himself being surprised or even startled by his brother's behavior or actions. While Papyrus was very similar to the Papyrus he had dreamt about time and time again, this one wasn't naïve on any level and put up with Sans's horrible puns a lot better than the Papyrus in his dream. Sans had been astonished when Papyrus had even attempted at making jokes to get him to laugh. Each attempt worked, hands down, but it was weird having Papyrus worry about him like that. It made Sans's soul heavy to think that it was like Papyrus was attempting to make up for all the horrible things the lanky skeleton had no control over, let alone Sans.

He made the mistake of letting his mind wander and expand on that thought three times. Each time he ended up in a spiral of self loathing and feeling like he was suffocating. Thankfully, each time he broke down he was with his brother, which meant that he was talked out of the break down before it could get really bad.

It was still embarrassing.

Between the work to get him back on his own two feet without aid and the constant company of either his brother or Alex, Sans found himself answering the questions Alex had left him when he should be sleeping. He found he didn't want to face the nightmare or night terror that may or may not be awaiting him in sleep and so, in turn, he used the determination of getting the notebook back to Alex fully answered as an excuse not to sleep. No matter how many times he proved to himself that was the worst idea he could have chosen over sleep, he would still turn to the notebook late at night after everyone had gone to sleep and jot down answers.

He quickly found that he was slowly forgetting. Almost desperate not to forget, Sans listened to the recording Alex had made all those nights ago. This, in turn, made sleep impossible till he was too exhausted to stay awake. But he did it. It took about a week but Sans eventually answered all of Alex's questions, even the ones Sans wanted to burn.

There had been a good number of questions that had been beyond personal and insensitive but Sans found himself unable to not answer the questions. Part of it was that he was reminded that Alex was a scientist and sometimes the hard questions had to be asked. Another part of it was that Sans wanted to give Alex a complete notebook in exchange for watching over his brother when Sans could not. Sans glanced down at the closed notebook in his hand as he hobbled through the lab leaning heavily on his cane. With the notebook finally finished, Sans wanted to get it out of his possession as soon as possible.

His grip tightened on the bound paper. Hopefully he would have the determination needed to ask the question he had been sitting on for an entire week, consequences be damned.

He found Alex where he thought he would; down a secluded hallway and out onto an unused terrace tucked into the building's structure. It was hidden enough to be unseen by anything on the grounds and still have a grand view of the Underground. Alex was leaning on the railing taking a drag from his cigarette.

"Thought I'd find you here," Sans commented as Alex looked over his shoulder at him, letting the breath of smoke out in a quick blow.

Alex grinned at him. "Always here for a smoke break," he replied cockily, scooting over to give Sans room at the rail. Alex took another pull of his cigarette as Sans took up the offered space. There was a brief pause before Alex offered, "Good to see you getting out and about for some mostly fresh air on your own."

Sans gave a nod of agreement. The anxiety from the what ifs around his question eating at his soul, making it feel as if there was something pressing on his chest. Alex snuffed out the spent cigarette in the ash tray a few minutes later and was working on lighting a second one by the time Sans had gotten around his discomfort of the situation and offered the notebook to Alex with a simple, "Here."

Alex looked at him, newly lit cigarette dangling between slacking lips. Alex quickly plucked the cigarette from his lips as he took the notebook, asking excitedly, "You answered some of them?"

Alex started flipping through the pages as Sans corrected him. "I answered all of them."

The notebook gave a pathetic slap when Alex forced its pages closed. Alex's gaze locked onto Sans in an instant. Sans kept his gaze on the Underground. Several things flickered across Alex's face out of the corner of Sans's eye, regret settling at last on the human's face. "Sans, I…A lot of these were insensitive and extremely rude of me to even consider asking. You shouldn't have answered them."

Sans merely gave a shrug. Turning away, Alex leaned heavily on the rail, taking a long drag from his cigarette. He let the smoke out in a sharp breath as Sans commented, "You'd been right."

"Bout what?" Alex drawled, his lips curling towards a snarl as he brought the cigarette to his lips again.

Sans glanced at Alex. The look in Alex's eyes confirmed the bitterness had not been directed at the stout skeleton. He returned his gaze to the Underground as he explained, "When you said that time would muddle what I remembered. I had to listen to the audio you had recorded several times to remember what I had forgotten."

Sans caught Alex flinching beside him. "Sans, I–"

"I'm glad," Sans cut him off. "A part of me was desperately trying to bury what I had gone through and was trying to realign myself with this timeline. But you were right. You said that my experience had changed me, that the timelines had been beyond real to me. If you hadn't documented it all when I had first woken up, I doubt I would have been able to live past it."

Silence thick and tense settled between them. Sans didn't break it. The ball was in Alex's court now. Eventually, Alex put his cigarette out in the ashtray, offering, "I…" He sighed, changing his mind. "Thank you. For the answers."

Sans dropped his gaze to just over his crossed arms as Alex took his leave. "Let Pap read those if he wants to, ok?" he called out, hearing Alex's footfall stop somewhere behind him. He could feel Alex's gaze on him, could feel his own magic swirling in his left eye as he gathered the determination to go through with his initial question, and prayed to whatever deity was listening that the lights of the Underground hid the glow of his magic lit eye. Gods above, it had been a long time since he had been this anxious over asking a simple question.

"Sure," Alex finally responded. The human turned once more but Sans reached out blindly with his magic, his inner turmoil pushing him to make sure Alex didn't leave before he'd gotten the chance to form the words. He regretted the action almost as soon as he registered it.

The notebook slapped against the pavement near Alex's feet when Sans's magic wrapped around Alex's soul. The sound alone would have been enough to make him lose his hold but, instead, it was the sensation that would have made his skin crawl had he any skin. He could feel Alex under his magic, feel the human's pulse quickening, his breathing stuttering, and the soul that filled the body reacting to his magic in a way that was both fascinating and terrifying. It was foreign and familiar, causing Sans jerk back as if he had been burned. The magic fell away

"Sans," Alex questioned, his voice raspy and breathless, a hand gripping where the magic had been.

Sans shoved the regret aside as he rushed, "What were we before my coma?"

Alex gave a strangled smile, offering in confusion, "Colleagues, friends. I don't–"

"Pap told me what you did during my coma," Sans urged, his fists tightening convulsively as his magical eye flickered yellow. Alex flinched, hand pressing harder into his chest as the magic snaked out towards him again. Sans reined it back, unable to snuff out his eye "He told me how you would remain at my side just to ease his worry, how you stopped taking care of yourself in order to make sure he was healthy when I woke up."

Alex shook his head. "I wasn't about to let him run himself ragged," he urged. "You would have killed me if I had let that happen." A bitter smirk crossed the human's face. "Figuratively speaking."

"But why?!" Sans snapped, his magic flaring again. Alex jerked back, hitting the door hard as a pained gasp escaping him. Sans jerked back, unable to rein in his magic or his emotions. Alex looked at him, his eyes tearing up – whether from pain or something else, Sans couldn't tell – and an expression Sans couldn't read. Sans felt disgusting.

"Because at some point in the two years we've known each other, you've considered me family. You and Papyrus." Sans tried to gain control over his emotions and magic but Alex's words were making the chaos in his own mind and soul even worse. "I did what I did because I didn't want the two brothers that had taken me in to suffer when I could mitigate the damage, even if only a small extent."

"But we were nothing more."

The accusation was like a slap to the face and Alex recoiled from it, his eyes wide and the realization in them proving how sharp the human's mind truly was. Alex knew what Sans was unable to ask directly, the question Sans had been sitting on since his brother had told him of Alex's actions. A toxic blend of emotions created Alex's expression as he slowly shook his head as if to deny it all, stating, "You know I can't answer that." Sans broke his gaze from Alex, turning his head away. This is not how he had wanted this to go. Not at all. Alex pressed on. "And I know you know why. You're still highly intelligent, Sans. You would have gone through every repercussion to every single, possible response to that question, regardless if it was a lie or a truth." Sans looked back at Alex, a conflicted expression on his face. Alex tried for a reassuring smile. It didn't look right. "It doesn't matter what we were. What matters is what you choose from this point forward."

Something bitter coursed through Sans and it left a sour taste in his mouth. "That's not fair," Sans croaked.

Alex gave a dry chuckle. "Not sure how that's not fair. You get–"

"It's not fair to you!" Sans snapped, cutting him off. Alex flinched from the shout and Sans felt regret course through him again.

Alex blinked at him before laughing. It was too sharp and a tad too hysterical. Sans took a startled step back, his magic flaring briefly in response. Thankfully the flare had been more upwards than outwards, leaving Alex untouched. Part of it had been from the sudden laugh that sounded so wrong. Part of it was from the brief flicker of a distorted, glitching health bar at the bottom of Sans's vision, something that left Sans feeling as if he was back in his coma and he quickly shoved the sensation away as Alex spoke again. "Fair? Now how could that particular question be fair to either party?" Alex's expression tightened and Sans wasn't quite sure what he was reading in it. A part of his swore he saw sorrow. Alex pressed on. "Do you know how hard it would be to not feel or fear that the relationship was nothing more than an obligation? We're strangers, Sans, whether we'd like to admit it or not." Alex grinned but it didn't reach his eyes. "We act familiar with one another but we're not. I do it out of habit but there are moments – a very large number of them, mind you – where it is painfully clear you are not the Sans I remember. Oh, you're still our Sans, but you've lived through something none of us will be able to relate to. You've changed in such a short amount of time and we're still reeling from it." A tear escaped down Alex's cheek and he swiped viciously at it. He kept talking, pushing on as if he couldn't stop. "Whatever we had been, Sans, is a mute point. And the only one that can decide what happens from here on out is you."

"But that's not fair," Sans cut in sharply, his magic flaring in his confliction. Alex flinched at its touch. Sans urged, "You should have some say in it too. You're a part of the damn equation!"

Alex snorted. Sans bristled. "Sans, I cannot hold you responsible for keeping up a persona you no longer are. I have two years on you of memories! Information about who you were and what you were like. Half of it doesn't even seem to count anymore!"

Sans glared at him but hurt was seeping into his anger. Alex had a very strong point but stating it like that only made Sans remember just how much of an imposter he truly was. He took a step back, bumping into the railing. This whole situation was going to hell in a hand basket and Sans had no way of repairing any of the damage being created. He was suddenly reminded of the memory that had returned after his initial night terror, the memory of when he had used his magic on Alex for the first time.

Sans felt sick.

Alex lost the humor on his face as he spoke, "Sans. Life has never been fair to me. I was born with a heart defect and damaged lungs. The only member of my family that actually cared about me was my mom," Alex's voice cracked, several more tears streaking down his face as he fought to keep his composure; he rubbed at his wet cheeks to try and deny what they were showing, "till she died and then I was ostracized and shunned because of something I had been born with. I had to fight to get anywhere in school and I ended up with you." The smile that graced Alex's lips was heartbreakingly soft, nostalgic. Sans had the sudden urge to step forward, as if Alex would break apart if he didn't hold the man together. He shuddered, confused by his own instinctual reaction. Alex didn't seem to notice as he met Sans's gaze. "I'm glad for that last one. I wouldn't trade these last two years for nothing but it wasn't something I had initially had a choice in. We both fought it and each other in the beginning. It was a bumpy start but we figured things out relatively quickly." The smile fell. "Sans." Sans flinched but kept Alex's gaze. "Life isn't fair. But you have a devoted, loving brother and one stubborn human for a lab partner that you're stuck with and neither are going to leave you, regardless of how much you've changed. You're still our Sans, no matter what."

Sans's magic flickered out of existence, returning his left eye to an empty socket to match his right one as Sans dropped his gaze. Alex used the wall as support as he bent over to scoop up the notebook. He straightened, only to look unstable on his feet and unnaturally pale. Sans felt his magic surge forward again but he pulled it back, knowing that doing anything more would only cause more damage. Alex gave him a strained smile and Sans got the distinct feeling that Alex was hiding something just so Sans wouldn't worry.

"I'll make sure Papyrus has access to this," Alex assured, gesturing with the notebook as his smile fell. "And you as well. If at any point you want it back, just grab it. I'll just put it in a safe place."

Alex turned and left, leaving Sans alone on the terrace. As soon as the door clicked shut, Sans turned, reaching for the rail as his legs gave out from under him. Out of all he had expected to happen from him attempting to ask the question, this had not been it. He had not even humored the idea that this could have been a consequence. A sob wrenched itself from his chest as he pressed his face against the bars, berating himself for his stupidity. He should have never asked. He should have kept it all to himself. Now there was a gigantic rift between him and the only person beyond his brother that he seemed to be at ease with. He choked on a second sob as an unfamiliar grief tore through him. He couldn't even remember Alex and yet here he was grieving as if he had lost someone dear to him forever.

He was certain, in some way, he had.

It didn't matter. What was done was done. He curled closer to the bars as he fought to keep his magic from spilling out with his emotions and causing more damage than it already had. Gods above, he was a mess.

Not far from the terrace access, Alex was in his personal lab sitting against a wall, glasses discarded somewhere and his gaze on nothing in particular. He had walked into his lab, had gathered a stack of loose papers and books and had settled to get to work on the floor only to find himself staring off into space with his thoughts nowhere in particular. He came to when Papyrus suddenly appeared before him, a careful, solid hand on his arm.

"Ah, Papyrus," Alex commented, moving to stand. His face felt weird and he rubbed at it with the back of his arm. It came back a bit damp and he rubbed at his face to make sure it was dry. "I'm sorry. I didn't hear you come in. How was work?"

"Are you alright, Alex?"

Alex looked to the lanky skeleton, barely seeing the worry on the monster's blurry face. Alex nodded, a soft smile gracing his features. "I'm fine, Pap. Just a little off." He turned to look for his glasses but Papyrus wrapped a hand around his arm. Alex looked back at him, covering the appendage. "I'm fine. Honest. It'll pass."

"Did something happen with Sans?"

Alex stiffened under Papyrus's hold, his smile faltering on his face as he tried to present it. "Why…"

"Sans had told me yesterday he intended to speak with you today." Alex couldn't see all that well but he was sure Papyrus's gaze was searching. For what, Alex couldn't fathom. "Did you speak with Sans?"

"He caught me on my smoke break."

"What did you talk about?"

Alex slipped out of Papyrus's grip, offering a smile that didn't feel right. "We just talked, Pap. Nothing to worry about. He even gave me back the notebook I had given him." He frowned, looking around. "Where did I put it? He had wanted you to have access t–"

"Did he ask about your relationship before his coma?"

Alex flinched. In all the moments for Papyrus to be keener than he appeared, this was the worst time. Alex debated on whether or not to lie but then figured that his reaction had already given him away. With a sigh, he answered honestly. "Yes."

"And?"

Alex gave a breathy chuckle, trying to play it all off. "And nothing. I didn't answer his question."

Alex was turned around gently by a hand on his shoulder and he came face to face with Papyrus. "Then why do you look like hell?"

Alex shrugged, pulling his gaze from the skeleton. He rubbed at his neck, not sure he had an answer for that. He wasn't even sure on why he looked like hell in the first place. Papyrus released Alex's shoulders but the look he was giving Alex made the human want to squirm. "You didn't tell him about the–"

"What would have come from that?" Alex asked quickly and sharply, the question coming out almost like a barked laugh as he grew defensive, quickly cutting Papyrus off before the monster could finish that sentence. "You're just as intelligent as your brother, Papyrus," Alex challenged, quickly turning the conversation back around to the beginning. "You can figure out the consequences to such a question for both parties involved, regardless if they're the questioner or the questioned. Doesn't matter if there was or wasn't anything before his coma. What matters is what he decides to do from here on out."

Alex turned, suddenly finding his glasses. He picked them up, offering, "I have work to do down in the main work space." He grabbed a few things and started for the door.

"Was there something between you two?" Papyrus called out. "Before his coma?"

Alex looked to him, a tight smile gracing his features at the look of confused determination on the skeleton's face. "Papyrus, I didn't answer his question."

Alex left Papyrus in the work space, fully aware that he didn't even give Papyrus the satisfaction of a straight denial of his question. Alex sighed, shoving the stuff under his arm up a bit higher. Later. He would deal with it all later.

* * *

Tumblr: undertaleau-othertale


	4. Part 2: Othertale Chapter 2

**Part 2: Othertale**

 _Chapter 2_

The next few weeks passed in a blur as the lab got back into the swing of things, sweeping Sans up in the process. Before he knew it, he was wandering around without a cane and returning to some semblance of normalcy in the hectic chaos that seemed to be the lab's natural state of existence. Strangely, Sans saw less and less of Alex.

But, even as the lab returned to its natural state, a tension started to appear between the other scientists and Sans was unable to be oblivious to it when it started to become palpable. He was well aware that many were still acting stiffly around him. While part of that was normal due to his occasional night terror (he would forever be grateful that nightmares were now a whole lot more common and a whole lot less violent upon waking up) and his lack of remembering a good number of those that worked in the lab, he could tell something had shifted recently. He just couldn't put his finger on what.

He entered the dining room, smiling at the familiar faces and not so familiar faces. Alphys, Undyne, Asgore, and several humans Sans was still remeeting were already seated at the table. Some monsters and humans mingled about as Papyrus and Toriel were still bringing in food from the attached kitchen, along with another human and several monsters. Sans took his customary seat across from where his brother normally sat and greeted the others warmly.

He looked up at his brother as Papyrus placed a large platter of pork chops in the middle of the table. "You help cook tonight, Pap?"

"Of course," Papyrus replied happily, placing the bowl of mashed potatoes a bit farther down the table. "I am always glad to help out in the kitchen when the opportunity presents itself."

Sans chuckled. "Learning lots?"

Papyrus placed a heavy hand on Sans's shoulder, grinning. "Always."

It took a while but eventually everyone settled at the table. Sans happily pulled a pork chop onto his plate, well aware his brother was watching him. He took the proffered bowl of mashed potatoes from Toriel and piled some on his plate, exchanging quick quips with her as he in turned passed her the stuffing. Talk was light and fun and Sans found himself content in the group of familiar and not-so-familiar faces and absolutely delicious food. He really had to hand it to Papyrus; the skeleton knew how to cook and Sans was grateful for that.

"I should not be surprised that he forgot come to dinner like he had promised."

Sans looked up at his brother only to find Papyrus's gaze on the empty chair to Sans's right. Sans glanced at the chair himself, not following. "Who didn't come to dinner?"

"Alex."

Sans's grip convulsed around the knife in his hand. Ah. So that explained Alex's absence. He was avoiding Sans. Sans had no idea why but he did know that he hadn't seen his "lab partner" in what had to be two weeks now and it had to stop.

Sans looked to Papyrus, offering a smile. "I'm sure he's just caught up in his work, Pap."

Papyrus nodded and went back to his plate but the dejected look remained on the skeleton's face. Sans felt the corners of his smile twitch towards a frown. He was not about to share his sudden revelation with his brother. He made his smile grow, suggesting, "Why don't we take a plate down to him when we're done? I'm sure he could use the distraction."

Papyrus looked up, surprise quickly turning into pleasure. "That is a great idea, brother. How did I not think of such a simple solution?"

Sans chuckled, the smile slipping into a real one. "Worry eats at the intelligent brain, dear brother of mine. I'm sure you would have _cooked_ something similar up sooner or later."

Papyrus choked on the bite he had taken and, while there were several moans and groans from those that had overheard, Papyrus's eyes danced with joy at the pun.

But when guilt quickly followed suit, Sans's own joy fell. It wasn't hard to figure out what the guilt had been and he hated the reminder that he was just an impersonator in this timeline. No matter how hard he tried to get back what he had forgotten, the amount that was still black in his mind was overwhelming.

Dinner was over soon thereafter. Sans pitched in to clean up the mess as Papyrus put together a tray for Alex. Sans bit back his opinion when he caught sight of such a large meal. He was pretty certain Alex would barely touch a third of the food even if the scientist needed to consume all that Papyrus was preparing for him. Instead, he grinned and offered, "Looks great, bro. He'll certainly appreciate the thought."

Papyrus smiled and followed Sans down to Alex's personal lab. Sans stopped at the access panel and imputed his personal code. The door opened without a hitch.

Sans froze just over the threshold.

Irrational terror seized him by the throat and slashed the breath from his body. His magic flared as panic threw itself into the toxic blend. The sound of the tray and its contents crashing to the floor barely registered in his brain as he tried desperately to breathe, to get away from something he couldn't even see.

His limbs wouldn't respond.

Magic burst from his left socket as pain erupted from the right. It felt like he was burning, as if flames were licking at his feet and attempting to swallow him whole. The world spun around him. He felt like he was falling. The face that swam into view was nothing he recognized, let alone register any features that would have told him who the figure was. Smoke swirled around him, burned his face and stung his already burning sockets. There was something– no, someone coming towards him and he knew that he had to do something, had to react or they were going to hurt Papyrus. They were going to hurt his brother and another but he couldn't remember who else he was trying to protect. Who else was he trying to save?

"SANS!"

Sans jerked away but Alex's firm grip on his shoulders only tightened. Sans gasped for breath, his entire body shaking as the world around him snapped back into place. Whatever he had lived through, whatever memory he had just relived, was slipping through his fingers as he shoved aside the rolling emotions to focus on whatever Alex's gaze swiftly moved to behind him. Sans turned to look up at Papyrus only to find the taller skeleton not at his normal height. Movement below him drew his eyes to his brother curled up as small as he could with his long limbs, hands over the back of his skull and knees on either side.

Sans couldn't remember a time he had seen Papyrus so small even as fragments of flame consumed memories flickered through his mind before disappearing completely, the sensation of having seen this before, if not quite like this. It made no sense but then Sans didn't ponder on it long enough to figure out why.

Sans stepped out of Alex's grasp surprisingly easily seeing as how tightly the other had held on. He knelt beside Papyrus, reaching out a shaking hand to touch his brother's arm. This close, he could hear faint whispers coming from his brother but whatever Papyrus was saying, it was too faint and too garbled for Sans to make out. Papyrus flinched from Sans's touch but Sans kept his hand flush to his brother's arm.

"Papyrus," he croaked. Sans swallowed. His throat felt like he had been screaming. Had he screamed? He couldn't remember now. "Hey, Pap. Look at me."

There was a sharp intake of air as the stream of words suddenly came to a halt and Papyrus's head came up enough for his big, terror filled sockets to lock onto Sans. Iridescent blue tears were streaming down the lanky skeleton's face, the same color as the Patient soul Papyrus possessed, and Sans had no doubt he had his own iridescent blue tear tracks, his mirroring his Integrity soul. Sans rubbed at the tears on Papyrus's face, asking, "You with me?"

Papyrus sniffed, slowly uncurling to sit on the floor as he rubbed at his other cheek. He nodded, reaching out with both hands and rubbing away the tears on Sans's cheeks. Papyrus gently pulled on him and Sans moved forward without resisting. He settled down in Papyrus's lap, the lanky skeleton wrapping around him. Sans, in turn, held onto his brother's arms, gladly giving his brother whatever comfort he needed. Sans needed it just as desperately.

"I've seen day terrors before, but I've never seen one so extreme in two people simultaneously." Sans looked up at Alex's soft notation. Papyrus had buried his face into his brother's shoulder and Sans doubted Papyrus would move anytime soon. Alex knelt, looking from Papyrus to Sans. "Whatever you two went through, whatever got triggered, was really bad. Sometimes, in severe enough cases, a monster's own magic will recreate any physical injuries that had occurred at the time of the initial trauma, even a day or two after the attack. It would probably be best if you both talked with an actual doctor relatively soon."

"Thought you were a doctor, Dr. Fatum," Sans challenged, unable to keep from cracking a joke, a smirk graced his face even as his voice cracked in turn.

Alex relaxed at the quip, standing with a snort. "So are you but you don't see anyone lining up for treatment."

Papyrus let out a burst of air in a huff of a laugh against Sans's shoulder. Sans chortled but what humor had been there was quickly dashed at Alex's question.

"Do you happen to remember what you recalled?"

Papyrus flinched but didn't respond and Alex didn't press. Sans, for his part, shook his head as he rubbed one of Papyrus's arms. "No. And I wish I did." Sans rubbed at his right socket. "If for nothing else to know what the heck had triggered us." Sans looked at what he could see of Papyrus's skull. "Do you remember anything, Pap?"

Sans nearly took the question back but Papyrus simply sighed into his shoulder, muttering, "Only the echoes of terror. It all seems rather fickle now that it has passed."

Sans looked up to Alex but the human was shaking his head. "I heard and I'm grateful even if that's odd. I'd rather you two not suffer from memories you've clearly forgotten."

Sans hummed in agreement but said nothing more. After a moment, his brother shift around him. Alex stood and put some distance between. Sans was rather disappointed. He wouldn't admit that a part of him was a bit concerned as well.

"I'm sorry about your dinner, Alex," Papyrus offered. He stood Sans up before clambering to his own feet.

Alex waved him off. "It's not a big deal. I'll just go to the kitchen and snag some leftovers. I need out of the lab anyways."

"Cleaning supplies?"

Alex gestured at the cabinet behind Papyrus. "If there's something else you need, there's a janitorial closet down the hall."

Papyrus went off to the cabinet as Sans leaned over and picked up the tray. "You shouldn't let him worry so much, Alex."

Alex gave him a strained smile. "I try not to but you know me: easily lost in work."

Actually, he didn't, but Sans felt it wouldn't help to state the obvious. "The avoidance is new, though," Sans replied, his gaze on the dishes he was gathering.

There was a pause before Alex replied, "I wasn't trying to avoiding you, Sans. I have weeks worth of work to catch up on before bosses start breathing down both our necks and I'm attempting to avoid them putting pressure on you while you're still recovering."

Sans looked up but Alex had moved away to one of the tables in the rather sizable room. It was one of many completely trashed with bits and pieces and all sorts of notes everywhere. Sans finally took in the entirety of the lab and the larger picture was just as wrecked as the couple of tables he had first seen. One wall was completely covered by papers and pictures, a few strands of string here and there to tie some sections together. He could make out his own handwritten notes mingled in with the same handwriting that had filled a notebook full of questions over a month ago. Some pages were dominated by one handwriting or the other but a large amount had both handwritings scrawled across the pages, even the typed pages had notes scrawled in the margins and over the text in both handwritings. He caught sight of nearby pages and his gaze roved over them quickly.

The situation slammed into him, hard.

They were running out of time.

They were running out of time and Alex was doing everything in his power to compensate for Sans's lack of memory by trying to figure out something – _anything_ – that could at least delay the inevitable for just a little longer.

Papyrus reappeared with some supplies and Sans took a shaky breath to re-center himself. He could worry about the end of days and his lack of contribution towards a solution later. Right now, he had to help Papyrus clean up a mess. Alex didn't come near them, falling back into work without a glance in their direction. Sans glanced his way once while cleaning and was surprised when there was a lack of negative emotions towards the human. In fact, a part of him was amused and the other part relieved. Though he couldn't remember, it seemed that Alex had been speaking the truth; the human was easily sucked into whatever challenge had been set before him.

"You sure you don't want us to bring you food, Alex?" Papyrus clarified.

Alex looked up, blinking at them from behind his glasses. It took a second but his brain finally registered what had been asked because he gave a sheepish grin. "I'm sure, Pap. I can only ignore my bladder for so long so I'll grab food after a restroom break."

Papyrus nodded, a determined look on his face as he turned and walked out. Sans followed after, waving back at Alex. "Get some sleep some time tonight, partner."

Alex waved at him and gave a hum in response but the human was already turning back to whatever he had been looking at. Sans sighed as the lab was left behind. He hoped his memories came back soon. He didn't need to be the reason Alex keeled over dead from overworking.

That was a thing, right? Whether it was or wasn't, knowing he wasn't there to help made him feel exhausted. He couldn't imagine shouldering all that stress by himself and he had lived through numerous resets where he had been powerless to do anything.

The dining room was dark but there was still a light on in the kitchen. Some human was there leaning against the counter opposite of the running microwave, a bowl already warm being consumed. They nodded in greeting to the brothers but returned their attention to the microwave as it beeped. Papyrus disposed of the waste while Sans placed the dishes and tray into the sink. He turned on the water to as hot as his bones could handle and started to wash the soiled dishware.

"Have a good night," the human spoke, exiting the room.

"You too, Mavis," Papyrus called out in response. Their interaction was a fleeting notice in Sans's mind as he got lost in thought.

There had to be a way for him to help. Maybe he could get Alex to talk him through what they had already done. After all, it wasn't like Sans wasn't remembering so telling him things that he should have remembered shouldn't hurt, right? That way there wouldn't be a need for Papyrus to be disappointed when Alex didn't show for dinner and Sans could stop feeling like Alex was avoiding him.

He shouldn't have asked his question.

"Sans, are you alright?"

Sans jerked and splashed hot, soaping water all down his front and across the counter. He took a step away from the sink as he groaned softly. And that's what he got for getting lost in thought. Papyrus was already there cleaning up the mess, though, and Sans quickly rinsed the bowl in his hand. "Thanks, Pap." His shirt was already starting to cool and he suppressed a shudder. "I'm ok, bro. Just tired."

Papyrus took the proffered bowl now free of soap, all nice and clean, and dried it. Sans turned off the water and grabbed a nearby hand towel to attempt to get some of the water out of his shirt. It wasn't till he was almost done getting what moisture he could out of his shirt that Papyrus spoke up again.

"Do you know anything about our...episode earlier?"

Sans shook his head as he dried his hands and forearms. "Nope. Though, I do have my suspicions. With what notes of Gaster's I remember and have read since, I don't think there's much stretching of the imagination to say that it was associated with that monster. I just don't know exactly what the episode was about, let alone what triggered it."

Silence fell over the kitchen broken only by the soft clink of Papyrus putting the bowl away. Sans hung the hand towel back up feeling oddly disconnected from all of it.

"I'm going to go make sure Alex takes a break," Papyrus voiced, resting a perceptive gaze onto Sans. "You'd best head to bed, Sans. You look exhausted."

Sans chuckled. "When am I not?" Stepping away from the counter, he smiled softly at his brother. "I'll see you at breakfast, then?"

Papyrus nodded.

They shared a brief hug before parting ways in the hallway.

His room seemed far colder than it normally was as the orange light of his lamp filled the room. He wasn't sure he even wanted to attempt to sleep but he wasn't sure he had much of a choice in the matter. Switching into pjs of sorts was easy, though, and made it far easier to at least climb into bed. Exhaustion pulled at every bone but Sans was certain his mind was too chaotic to fall into anything peaceful.

He didn't know just how right he was.

Alex jumped, blinking at the door as someone pounded on it briefly. He pushed his glasses up to rub at his eyes before he glanced at the clock. It was too early in the morning for someone to be pounding on his door. Whoever was outside his door pounded on it again. Reluctantly, he left his work. "This best be quick," he grumbled to himself. He didn't have any time to waste.

He keyed the door open and it slid apart to reveal a very nervous and very flustered yellow dinosaur monster. "Alphys?" he questioned, surprised. His grumpy mood deflated a bit as his brain focused on the conversation. Work could wait for a brief moment; she never bothered him in his lab, let alone pound on any door. He needed the break anyways. "What-"

"I-it's Sans," she stuttered, ringing her hands. "H-he's h-having a n-night terror."

She hadn't even finished the last two words before Alex was already running. She kept right with him, rushing, "Undyne and Pa-Papyrus are trying t-to wake him."

Alex scoffed, taking the stairs three at a time. He didn't bother to wait for Alphys as she quickly fell behind.

He had been made Sans's partner for a reason. He had been trained with Sans's magic for a reason.

Undyne and Papyrus's voices reached him as he rounded the corner. Toriel was outside the room with two others. They looked his way but moved when he didn't slow down. Grabbing the door frame, Alex made the sharp turn into utter chaos.

Undyne has a spear in hand but she was on the defensive, attempting to keep Papyrus behind her even though he was fighting her protection. Papyrus was talking, trying to get his brother to hear him, to see him, but Alex could tell that whatever Sans was seeing, it wasn't this.

"Sans!" he called out, already halfway into the room. Sans's gaze snapped to him and Papyrus used the lull in attacks to get closer. Sans didn't let him get far, throwing the lanky skeleton into Undyne with a flick of the wrist and blue magic pulsing. The pair crashed to the floor and Alex felt fear and adrenaline fill his veins as Sans rounded on him. Sans lashed out, blue magic engulfing Alex's soul. Alex only had enough time to let out a startled breath before he was slammed into the wall.

Sans shouted in an odd language, one that seems to not quite work in his ears. The only thing he gleaned from Sans's shouting, though, was what the night terror was most likely about. That was the last clear thought Alex had before his mind was engulfed in white.

Papyrus came to with a start, a familiar scream still ringing through his skull. It took his brain a moment to process that the scream had not been part of his dream and any drowsiness remaining vanished. He threw back the covers and raced out of his room. His long strides took him into Sans's room where he found the stout skeleton sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Sans?" Papyrus inquired gently. Sans's gaze snapped to him. It felt like he had been drenched in ice at the sight of the blue magic pouring from Sans's left socket, right empty of its normal pupil light. Papyrus ignored the fact that Sans wasn't really looking at him as he stepped farther into the room. He brought his hands up hoping that his brother would be more at ease with seeing his palms. "Sans, are you ok? You with me, brother?"

Heavy footfall behind him told him Undyne and Alphys had shown up. He ignored them too. "Sans?"

Undyne gripped his arm, suddenly behind him and armed. "Papyrus," she ordered, gaining his gaze. "Don't."

" **Let him go,"** Sans snarled. Papyrus looked back at Sans, excited, but his excitement diminished when he saw the bones materialize around the stout skeleton. Undyne pulled Papyrus back forcefully, guarded. The bones shot towards them and Undyne blocked a good number of them. **"Let. Him. Go."**

"The hell is he speaking?" snarled Undyne, grabbing Papyrus and pulling him to the ground as a barrage of bones sliced through the space they had just been occupying.

"You can't understand him?" Papyrus asked, as Undyne got up, blocking another attack. She shot him a startled look, demanding, "You can?!"

Papyrus got up, sidestepping an attack that slipped past Undyne's defense. He didn't answer her question, though, calling to Sans, "Sans, please. It's me, Papyrus."

There was a flicker, a fault in the coming attack and Papyrus thought he saw Sans return to himself for a brief moment, a flicker in his sockets. But, whatever progress he had made was shattered when Alex came in, calling Sans's name. Papyrus took the diversion to slip around Undyne. He didn't even make it half way before his soul was turned blue and he was thrown into Undyne, slamming into the floor painfully. Papyrus rolled off of Undyne as he watched Alex slam into the wall, the blue soul in his chest blazing with Sans's magic. Pain flickered across Alex's now pale face as sweat started beading the pale skin.

" **You! I'll end you!"** Sans shouted and Papyrus watched as something dawned on Alex just before Sans embedded an attack into Alex's torso. Alex gave a strangled scream.

"Sans!" Papyrus cried out, leaping towards his brother. "No!"

Sans lashed out at him blindly, catching Papyrus by surprise. Papyrus landed hard on his rump in an attempt to dodge the attack and still ended up getting nicked; a bone scrapped the side of his skull. "Sans!" Papyrus choked. "Don't."

Somehow, someway, that did the trick. As Papyrus sat there, a hand on the throbbing scrape on his cheekbone and tears pricking the back of his sockets, he watched as Sans awoke staring at him. Sans's gaze didn't remain on his brother, though. Sans looked to where his magic was active and jerked back as if he had been burned, the magic in the room dissipating in a heartbeat, all physical attacks dissipating. Alex collapsed to the floor a foot and a half beneath him with a groan. Alphys ran to Alex's side as Undyne got up hesitantly to join her. Papyrus missed the wary look she cast Sans as she passed behind the lankier skeleton. Sans took a step back, his hand curling at his chest. He turned to Papyrus in hesitation and Papyrus watched with bated breath as Sans seemed to war something out in his head before reaching towards him. Papyrus felt relief flood him as he shifted his weight to take Sans's hand. He involuntarily flinched as he rolled on a very sore part of his rump. Sans instantly jerked his hand back and Papyrus could clearly see on Sans's face what Sans had interpreted the flinch as. Papyrus reached out towards Sans, his brother's name on his tongue, but Sans left the safety of the lab in a final burst of magic.

It was like time had stopped as Papyrus's outstretched hand reached for San but the skeleton was gone and Papyrus blinked. He was suddenly aware of all who were in the room and all who were not.

"Sans!" Papyrus scrambled to his feet rather poorly, catching a glimpse of Alex when Undyne moved to follow after Sans as well.

"No," Alex spoke, a hand brushing Undyne's leg. She stopped anyway, looking down at him. Papyrus stilled as well, but he was clenching and unclenching his hands. Why was Alex stopping them from going after Sans? Alex looked at Papyrus as best he could, uttering, "Go calm down your brother and bring him back. Too many people go after him and he'll only run more."

Papyrus nodded, taking off towards his room as Undyne started to argue Alex's decision. Papyrus dodged around Toriel and the others that had gathered outside the room. He stopped in his room long enough to grab one of the hoodies his brother had gotten him and his boots, shoving both over his pajamas before taking off after his brother. He just hoped he would be able to find him.

Papyrus hesitated when he stepped outside the lab. Even in the Underground, there was enough of a shift in the lights to dictate that it was still early in the morning. The area was bathed in an odd light that lit up the area but didn't. He remembered someone comparing the half light at night to having the full moon shine down on a clear night. Papyrus wondered if that was an accurate statement as he just picked a direction and went with it.

The first time he ran through the faint traces of Sans's magic, Papyrus nearly cried. The relief of knowing he was going in the right direction was overwhelming and Papyrus hurried on.

Papyrus was grateful that his brother had been too exhausted to make proper shortcuts. The magical footprints Sans was leaving behind were unusual, especially when his brother's shortcuts normally left nothing to even hint that Sans had been there to begin with.

When he came across a pile of snow that had an impression of what looked like Sans's face, he hoped he wasn't too far behind. Movement ahead showed he was right on Sans's tail and Papyrus hurried after his brother. He caught a glimpse of Sans coming to a stop in a clearing and was probably no more than a handful of strides away. Relieved, he opened his mouth to call out but a small figure collided with his head, wrapping themselves bodily around said appendage to mute Papyrus's cry. How no one had heard their crash into the underbrush was a surprise but, then again, Papyrus deduced that Sans's own ambush had created quite the ruckus as well.

The little figure moved enough for Papyrus to see but kept their arm across Papyrus's mouth to keep him quiet. It was a good thing, too, because Papyrus would have screamed. About what or at who, he wasn't sure. All he knew was that the thing trying to capture his brother terrified him and, as the little figure buried their face into his shoulder, complete certainty filled him; there was nothing he could do but make sure the little figure did not slip from where they were currently latched onto. As the black, inky mass that was ensnaring Sans came into view, Papyrus decided that he would have been screaming out of fear.

A child walked out from behind the trees, looking up at Sans. Papyrus couldn't see their face but the way the creature turned its head towards the child, it was clear that the child was there due to the creature. A giggle left the child and Papyrus shuddered. He froze but his shudder went unnoticed as the creature and child left with Sans in tow.

The little figure attached to him let go and landed on solid feet in the snow. He swallowed down the bitter taste of used magic as he looked down at the little human, sockets burning with unshed tears he was vehemently denying.

"Why did that….thing take my brother?" Papyrus demanded, knowing that the child before him would know. He could see the similarities between the child that had been with the creature and the one before him: same shirt, same shorts, same shoes, same hair, same overall appearance. The child shrank a bit before giving him a shushing gesture, their expression pleading. He frowned, but he nodded, watching the child dutifully write in the snow ' _experiment_ '. His frown deepened. He asked softly, "Do you know where they went?"

The child nodded.

"Take me there," Papyrus half ordered, half begged. The child gained an apprehensive look and Papyrus's hands shot out to grip both of the child's shoulders. The child was tiny and Papyrus barely put any pressure into his grasp. "Please. I have to protect my brother."

Determination replaced the apprehension and the child nodded. Stepping out of Papyrus's touch, they gestured for the skeleton to follow. Papyrus quickly got to his feet and followed after the child slipping quickly through the trees. For a while, their trek was silent beyond the noises of Papyrus's boots against the snow. But when it seemed nothing was really going to happen, Papyrus figured it was safe to talk, even as he kept his voice low.

"Can you talk?"

Papyrus nearly smacked himself. Out of all the things he wanted to ask, that had not been one of them. But, now that it had left his mouth, he couldn't help wondering if they couldn't. After all, they hadn't said a word yet.

The child shook their head no.

"Do you have a name?"

The child glanced at him. The look clearly spoke of annoyance and Papyrus nearly took the question back but the child was already bending over to write in the snow.

' _Frisk_ '

' _Quickly._ '

' _Yes/No ? only_ '

The child took off at a slight jog and Papyrus had only a moment to take in the words before he was forced to follow or be left behind.

If he had read the set of words right, Frisk was the human child's name, they were in a hurry, and he could only ask yes or no questions. He felt rather stupid with that last bit. Of course he would only be allowed to ask questions that had yes or no as the answer. The child clearly had to write in the snow for anything more, which brought another thought to mind.

"Do you know sign language?"

The child gave him a confused look and he deduced that they could not. Odd how they knew how to write but not know how to sign. "Can you read as well?"

This time the look was one he had seen many times. It was flat and clearly spoke 'no duh' in a way that made Papyrus feel rightly reprimanded. Frustration flared through him as he glared back at the child. "I apologize for such a question but I know nothing about you and simply knowing how to write doesn't necessarily mean you know how to read. You don't know what sign language is and you clearly know more about the situation than I do. In fact, you could be in on this whole situation and leading me right into a trap!"

The stress of the situation was clearly getting to him as the words tumbled out but he didn't care. His only ally in this was Frisk and he didn't even know where the child came from, what was going on, and how he was going to get himself and Sans out of a situation he didn't recognize. Shame washed over the child's face and they reached out to him. At first he was confused but they grabbed his hand and pulled gently. When he was low enough, they hugged him tight, pressing their face into the fabric on his shoulder. His arms came up on instinct alone and he wrapped the human child in a tight hug, realizing his bones were rattling. He tried to swallow his fear and anxiety and frustration so that he didn't burden this child with everything that was coming but it was hard. It was hard to suppress everything and to push forward and strive to protect the one soul he cared most for.

It clicked.

That was it, though, wasn't it? He was there to protect his brother. He needed to treat this like he would as a royal guard, as his job. He didn't have to suppress his emotions, he just had to set them aside for the moment, strive through, and then deal with them when he got himself and his brother to safety.

And Frisk. If nothing else, the child was not only showing him the way but showing him compassion as well and Papyrus appreciated that far more than he would ever be able to voice. Standing with his arms still around the child, he shifted their weight to his side as they wrapped their legs around him as best they could, expression curious.

"Point and I will go that way."

Frisk nodded and pointed ahead of them. Papyrus took off at a run, determination thrumming through his bones.

Something other than reality swam before Sans's eyes. Whether a nightmare or memories long forgotten, he couldn't pull himself out of it. All he knew was that Papyrus was in danger and needed to be protected. He had to protect his brother.

He had to protect Papyrus.

"Sans! Don't."

The words were weak – pathetic, really – but reality snapped into sharp clarity around him. There, sitting before him on the floor, was Papyrus with a hand to a cheek. He could feel his magic all over the room, the majority of it collected in one location.

His soul dropped painfully as he turned. He jerked back, cancelling his magic as quickly as he could as the horrors of what he had done registered. His grip on Alex's soul vanished and the bones that had been imbedded in the human and the surrounding space shattered and dissipated. He flinched as Alex hit the floor, regretting the rash decision instantly.

He took a step back, hand curling towards his chest. He could still feel Alex's soul in his grip, could still feel the feedback of his own attack in the human's body, and for the life of him, he couldn't recall what had driven him to attack Alex like that. There was nothing there but darkness and, for some reason, that terrified him even more than knowing the truth behind the action. He looked to Papyrus, not knowing what to do. His brother was still watching him, sockets wide with an anticipation Sans couldn't read. His gaze flickered to his brother's hand still pressed firmly to a cheek but Sans couldn't tell if it was out of pain, out of fear, or an unconscious action. He couldn't tell anything and it was not only making him frustrated, but it was also terrifying. Still, he swallowed that fear and frustration in favor of helping his brother up. He offered his hand to Papyrus, taking a step towards the lankier skeleton.

His brother flinched.

Sans jerked back, pressing his hand against his sternum till it hurt. He yanked at the world, separating himself from his brother with as much force as he could manage.

It was a bad idea. He shot from spot to spot on what was thankfully a straight line but he found himself face first in the snow before he had time to rectify his mistake.

Everything hurt. Every bone he had hurt. Even his soul hurt and Sans couldn't help but be flabbergasted. What in the world had that been?

Pushing himself up out of the snow, he looked around. He knew where he was. He could still make out the lab's outline through the trees but there was quite a bit of distance between himself and the building. He sat back on his heels, trying to get his mind to focus.

What had happened?

Well, obviously, he had tried to take a shortcut, to teleport, but it had gone wrong and, quite honestly, had been downright awful. It was nothing like in his dream, in his memories, where it had been simply like stepping from place to the next, like passing through a doorway or portal. No, this was almost like he was ceasing to exist only to exist again in another place, that if he wasn't sure of his footing, he would cease to exist by either scattering himself across space and time or by planting himself into a tree or wall. The sudden understanding of how dangerous his shortcuts were now made him wish he had tried to use one long before now.

Why was this the first time he had teleported?

The answer, it seemed, was far simpler than he had anticipated.

Because there had been no need.

He had never had the need to utilize his ability. He had been so focused on getting stronger physically that where he would have normally used a shortcut, he had walked. And, to only add to the matter, he only recently felt able to do any sort of magic beyond holding himself together.

He sighed, his body relaxing. He felt like an idiot. Probably was one, too, for leaving in such a manner, but what was done was done. There was nothing he could do about it now.

He pushed himself to his feet, the knees of his shorts damp from sitting in the snow. While he didn't generate heat like humans did, his magic still ran warm and could melt snow, albeit far slower than a human could. Lacking the necessary nerve ending to properly feel temperature differences, Sans also barely noticed the snow under his bare feet beyond the realization that he was indeed barefoot stepping in snow that wasn't quite powder anymore. He made a face at the sensation as he wiggled his toes.

"Nope! Nope. That just made it worse," he voiced, hopping from one foot to the other to shake the snow from between his bones.

His foot swelched into the snow underfoot but he didn't notice. What he did notice, though, was movement in the opposite direction of the lab. He snapped his head around, pupils locking onto a figure a number of yards away.

His pupils shrank.

A human child was standing opposite the direction to the lab, watching him. At first it just creeped him out. Why in the world was there a child just standing there watching him? Where were their parents? Did they even live near here?

Who were they?

"Are you lost?" Sans called out, taking a step towards them. The child didn't react but he started to really take in their appearance. Brown hair in a symmetrical cut at the jaw line, stripped shirt, shorts, shoes…

"Frisk?"

The word was out of his mouth before he could even think it. No. There was no way that the child was actually real, that Frisk wasn't simply a figment of his imagination.

The child turned.

"Frisk!" Sans stumbled briefly before taking off after the kid. "Frisk! Wait!"

Whether it was a hallucination, he was dreaming, or it was really happening, he never seemed to get closer. The moment he thought he was gaining, he would see them farther ahead.

Out of nowhere, they vanished.

He slowed to a stop in a tiny clearing and even that was a stretch. It was more of a stretch of space he could fit 10 of his closest friends in if he wanted to and still have elbow room but it wasn't much of a clearing. "Frisk?"

A child giggled.

The magic around Sans's bones turned to ice at the same time it poured from his left socket in a flame. How could he have been so stupid. He knew that giggle, had heard it too many times to not know that giggle. That particular giggle reigned over his nightmares far more than he cared for.

Chara.

He sucked air between his teeth as the shadows around him surged forward. He dodged what he could without shortcutting. He couldn't bring himself to teleport. He'd gather the magic to do it but each time he nearly tipped the scale, the sensation of his last attempt washed over him and the magic would evaporate. He summoned bones, trying to embed whatever was lashing out at him but that only worked for mere moments. Whatever was going after him seemed able to free itself once pinned and Sans started to feel as if he was up against something that wasn't properly solid.

His sudden influx of magic use, the horrible experience that had been his shortcutting, and the night terror from earlier was catching up with him far faster than he would have liked, exhaustion slowing his efforts to remain untouched. He did his best to not let it become an issue, the fear of turning to dust with just one hit very potent in his bones at the moment. Even after _weeks_ of knowing that it wasn't possible for him to dust with one hit any more, that fear was the only think keeping him from growing sloppy.

Didn't work out too well as he misstepped.

Tendril was the only word that came to mind to describe the black, stringy, inky thing that wrapped around his throat, the back of his skull, and across his teeth before it yanked him forward and up. He gave a muffled cry, pain shooting down his neck at the movement as he tried to fight, tried to pull the tentacle off of his neck, but other tendril shot out. One wrapped around his torso to the point he feared a rib would crack. Two others latched onto his legs as a third wrapped around his left wrist. It yanked his hand away from the tendril, leaving his right hand to only grasp at it to keep himself steady if nothing else.

All of the jerking around stopped not even a minute after it had started and Sans found himself immobilized a few feet off the ground even as he twitched about trying to get free. The tendril wrapped around his skull slipped over his left eye and it was like he had no magic to pull on. He jerked in the tight grasps, panic driving him to try and get free.

A mass approached from the shadows and Sans froze as ice cold dread rushed through his system. His magic started collecting out of instinct but the tendril already tight around his ribs squeezed and he had the sudden sensation of being sapped of magic. It made his head spin.

" **WelL dONe, ChiLd,"** the mass from the shadows spoke, the voice seeming to ring through Sans's skull as the splotchy mask of a face turned to something Sans couldn't see. A giggle from the unseen thing made fear streak down his spine. **"lET uS ReTurN."**

He was screwed.

As the mass started taking him back to wherever it had come from, Sans started to calm down. Clearly the thing didn't want to harm him quite yet, meaning he had the chance to escape once the damn thing stopped draining him of magic.

" **hAve YoU FoUnD tHe OtHEr one, yEt?"**

Sans tensed at that. Other one what? Did the blasted thing mean Papyrus or something else? He prayed to the stars beyond that the thing was talking about something else.

He was glad that Papyrus was still back at the lab.

Hopefully.

"No. They will come home on their own."

" **mAke SURe tHAT hAPpens. i dO nOt WANT ThE onlY oThER hEALtHY one gETTINg DamAGed. i wOrKeD ToO hard To haVe iT ALl ABrUptlY stoP beCAUSE You cAnnOt KeeP AN EYE On tHEM."**

Sans relaxed marginally. That didn't sound like they were talking about Papyrus. In fact, it almost sounded like they were talking about another human. Sans tried to look at the child following but the tendrils kept him rather immobilized.

"Of course."

He mentally groaned. He couldn't read anything out of how the kid was taking this without seeing their face. It almost sounded like the thing was reprimanding them but how the kid reacted seemed as if it was nothing more than a statement about the weather.

A branch smacked him in the face and he glared at the thing carrying him.

Another branch smacked him in the face.

He groaned. So that's what this whole trip was going to be, wasn't it?

A third branch wacked into the side of his skull.

Fan-fricken-tastic.

Sans tracked their progress up till he got turned around and lost. After that, he closed his right socket and simply waited. There was nothing he could do without his magic and somehow the creature holding him could suppress just that. So, while still trapped in the not-slimy-but-certainly-looking-like-slim-and-ink tendrils of whatever the creature was, he had to wait. It turned out to be a nice half nap, once he got over the whole being choked and squeezed to death.

There was a sudden shift in light and Sans opened his unobscured socket to find himself being brought into a structure that was buried beneath a hill. The entrance was made out of thick slabs, the door equally thick. It opened slowly on an automated system but it was silent. There was no telling how large the complex was and Sans had a suspicion it was deceptively massive.

They went down a level and through several hallways before arriving at a massive room filled with an exuberant amount of very illegal experiments and equipment. The place was in disarray, cables both still hanging in there and busted dangling from the ceiling and crowding the floor, stains of unknown origins coloring dingy surfaces, and things everywhere. There were glass cylinders full of some liquid preserving some creature or another all over the place. Some looked to still be alive and the cylinders still active, others not so much alive as preserved for whatever reason. The creature weaved its way through the maze of things that Sans was certain would burn very nicely if he ever got the chance to start a fire.

He wasn't certain where the thought of fire came from but he wasn't about to give it up now.

The creature unlatched restrained on what Sans was certain was an examination table not meant for living beings. A tendril wrapped around his right wrist and he was slowly pulled out of the half curled position he had managed to get himself into. He fought it, thus why it took so long, but the creature only moved the tendrils to snake into his joints and force him to move when it was done with his struggling. It was a disgusting feeling, one he vowed to avoid in the future by just moving next time.

The tendril around his skull left and the first thing he did was ask, "So where are we, exactly? Doesn't seem like the kind of place I'd wanna stay in for long."

" **i Am SuRpRiSED yOu dO NoT rEMEmBER. i HaD inTeNDEd fOr YOuR TImE HeRE to ReMain IntACT In yOuR MiND."**

He jerked against the restrains now tight against his wrists, ankles, and torso, sockets wide as pupils vanished. No, no. No way. There was no fucking way.

An inky tendril curled against his cheek as if to cup it. **"IT wOuLD sEEM tHaT RoMAn hAd Gotten TO you suCceSsFuLly AFTEr ALL."** The tendril left and Sans suppressed a shudder. He felt disgusting now and didn't even understand why. **"I had NOt BEEn ceRTAIn He haD mAnAGed To GeT HiS haNDS On a BOttlE oN His wAy OUt."**

"Who's Roman?" he ground out. The odd way this _monster_ spoke was starting to give him a headache.

He could have done without the distorted laughter in his head, too.

" **SacRificINg HimSeLF FOr a noBLe CAuSe. wHY Am i nOT sUrpriSED. in fAct, I AM imPrEsSED he MAnAGeD To lAst LoNg EnOugh To SeE thrOUgH hIs nObLe DeEd."** The mass moved away, rearranging things on some surface. **"T. n. rOmAN WAs An assistant of Mine ThAT DeCIdEd He wAs ThROuGh workING wiTH ME. So, he Set tHe PLace on FIrE And FlEd with YoU AND YOUr broThEr. WHeRe is pAPYrUS? HeAlThy And WeLl, I HoPe?"**

Sans thrashed against his restraints and the mask like face turned towards him, ever present grin seeming to only grow longer. "Don't you dare touch my brother, Gaster, or so help me I'll-"

" **OR yOu'lL WhAt, sANs? tAke mE oN?"** Gaster laughed again, coming over. Out of the goop near what Sans could only assume was Gaster's chest, something extended. By the time it touched his face to pat his cheek, it had become a hand pulled free of the mass that was now W. D. Gaster. **"you ArE iN no ShAPe To tAKe oN ANyOnE, lIttLE SKeleTon. eSPeCially Not me."** Gaster didn't so much lean in as stretch his head out like he would a hand till his face was inches from Sans. Sans couldn't even lean away, skull pressed firmly against the flat surface already. **"i cAn tAKe yoU Out wiTh eAsE."**

"You're lying," he choked, his soul dropping at the thought even as his right socket suddenly itched.

Gaster laughed again, the face rising up and back in a gesture that mimicked someone throwing their head back.

Sans smacked his head against the hard surface as he jerked back when Gaster's face was suddenly shoved into his own. **"Oh, I Am lyInG, am I? YOUr pareNtS BroUght YOu TO me NOt WAnTING you anyMoRe. i TOoK you iN ANd TAughT yOU ALL YoU kNow. I TauGHt you HOw TO be thE oLDeR brOtheR. I mADe yOu INTO tHe monster THAT YOU ArE now aND I MadE SURE I couLd End yoU iF YOU gOt ToO Out oF hAND."**

Sans didn't know why he was crying but he was. There were so many emotions rolling within him, he couldn't even figure out what they were. But there was something there, a feeling in his soul that Gaster was lying. About what and how much, he wasn't sure, but he certainly hoped for the majority of it to be a lie. This _monster_ couldn't be responsible for the foundation of his life. He just couldn't.

But, then, the notes he had seen about him and his brother hadn't been fabricated.

The chuckle was involuntary. The cackling just seemed like the next logical progression.

Sans leaned heavily on his restraints as his ribs hurt from laughing so hard. As his laughing subsided, he straightened up, spurts of giggles escaping him as his cheeks were streaked with tears.

"Aw man," Sans spluttered between another splattering of giggles. "And I thought I had been crazy." The grin that stretched across his face seemed to threaten to break his skull. "It's a good thing I don't remember what you taught me, then, eh, G?"

The grin on the mask like face diminished slightly as the face receded. **"wHAT do yOU mEAn?"**

"I don't know how much you've been tracking of my life, Gooplord, but I Fell Down. Fell Down so hard that I got Dissociative Acute Amnesia. It was so acute that I didn't remember anything from before the twisted nightmare that had been my dream. You, weren't even in it. No human was, and certainly no monsters like you." Sans grinned some more. "In fact, you could say I'm a new skeleton. Only reason I know who you are is because of some of your old research notes."

Gaster pulled back completely, the grin on the mask not completely gone but certainly far smaller than it had been. Sans felt rather proud that he had knocked the creature down a few pegs, even if he was lying through his teeth on part of that. His memories weren't fully back but he remembered reading those notes prior to his coma.

Gaster didn't need to know that.

" **yOu sEeM ProUD of thaT FAct."**

"Eh, I take what I can get."

Gaster chuckled and Sans tried not to grit his teeth against the sound. **"Oh, coME now, SANs. dOn'T tELl mE yoU'VE beCOME laZy?"**

"Far from it, from what I've been told as of late," Sans countered, not at all comfortable as to why Gaster was suddenly amused. He had been annoyed earlier, Sans was sure. He had gotten a strike against his captor. "But my brother would say I'm a lazy bag of bones any day."

" **ThEN I WiLl jUst hAVe tO aSK him, WON't I?"**

Dread was like ice on his bones. "Like you'll ever have the chance," Sans bluffed, praying to whatever would listen that this wasn't going where he thought it was going.

" **i'm sUre I'LL gEt The cHancE FaR sooNEr THan YOu thiNk."** Gaster's attention went beyond the edge of the surface Sans was strapped to. **"plAce THem In THeir CAPSule. I'Ll TAkE tHE bRoTher."**

"NO!" Sans struggled against his bonds but it did little more than cause the bonds to rub painfully against his bones.

A second examination table of sorts was brought into his line of sight, soon followed by Papyrus being led by several tendrils. Sans stared. It was strange. Papyrus looked composed, determined even, but there was a slight tremor in Papyrus's fists and his sockets were a bit too wide. As brave as Papyrus was, Sans knew he was just as scared. Gaster moved over to the lanker skeleton and strapped him in as Sans tried to get free. "Papyrus! Gaster, so help me, if you do anything to harm him– "

" **ScREam yOurSELF hoArsE IF you WiSh, Sans. nO OnE cAN hEar yoU aNd it iS ALl ratHeR aMuSiNG To me."**

Gaster moved away from Papyrus. Sans jerked against his bonds again, pupils trained on his brother. "Papyrus. Pap. Look at me." He gained a wide socket gaze void of emotion. It chilled Sans down to the bone. "Everything's going to be ok. We'll be ok."

Iridescent blue tears welded up in Papyrus's sockets the same blue as Papyrus's Patient soul. Sans felt his own soul clench in his chest at seeing them again but he watched as those tears stayed in those sockets. What had Gaster done to get Papyrus so willing to do as he was told? Why wasn't Papyrus fighting back? Crying? Screaming? Anything!

" **YOu shOuLDn't mAkE pRomiSeS you caN't keeP, Sans,"** Gaster chastised as those iridescent tears were blinked away. Sans glared at Gaster only to have his soul drop. Gaster had a human Bravery soul in a canister between two tendrils. **"AfTEr alL, YOU ArE faR too UNstabLE FoR me To eXpERiMeNt ON. yOuR BrOtHeR tUrned Out far MORe stable iN that EFFeCT."** Gaster turned his attention briefly to Papyrus. **"NOw IT iS tImE tO SEE HOW fAr we can puSh the Limits OF SuBjeCt oNE's FOrM."** Gaster's grin turned psychotic as he focused on Sans. **"shaLl wE See how much mAgIc hE cAN HOlD BefORE hE BeCoMes BrITtle LIkE You, SUbjECT Two?"**

Sans jerked against his bonds, panic suddenly overriding anything that would have kept him safe. "You can't! Papyrus has already gone through a trait shift. You force him to do another and you'll kill him!"

He wasn't where this information was coming from or how he knew it was accurate, but the pleased look on Gaster's face only confirmed what he knew: Gaster already knew this.

" **IT WOulD sEEm tHAT YOU HaVeN't Lost alL oF THe InfoRMATION I HAVe GiVEN YOu oVer the YeArs. You aRe CoRrECT. if i FOrcE PaPYrUs to TAkE On bRAvErY, thEN hE Will die. But, If HE TAkeS IT ON HiMSeLf, well,"** Gaster's grin only grew, **"THAT IS SimPlY a bONuS To whAt i wiLL BE DoINg tO Him."**

Sans, for all his intelligence, was suddenly at a loss. "I don't understand," he finally voiced, frowning. He knew his brother was staring at him, could feel the gaze on his skull, but he couldn't pull his attention away from the _monster_ before him. "If you are not trying to get Papyrus's trait to shift, then why use Bravery magic?"

Gaster chuckled and Sans flinched from the noise. **"SImPlY Put, braveRY IS OranGE mAgic hIGhlY COnCEnTrAtEd. WheRE yOu anD Subject oNe Share bLue MagIc duE to the Two blUe trAItS YoU bOtH house, ORAnGE MAgIc AnD Blue MaGic aRe tHe mOst InTeREsTinG Of cOnFlIcTinG mAgICs ThaT ResOnATe tOgether. IF tHe ADDiTIoN oF foreiGn ORaNge MaGic DoEsN't KiLL sUBJeCt ONe, then THIs will hAVe beEN a SUCCeSS. If It Does, ThEn I HavE yoU TO TEST On AS WElL, DESpiTe YOUR fRAgiLe staTE. twO SouLS THAt havE goNE throUgh a trait SHIfT bEinG IntROduceD tO New MagiC."** Sans shuddered as a sound rolled through his skull that he refused to name. **"ThE resUlTS shouLD Be faScINAtIng. WIlL yOU take on bravery in anotheR tRAIt SHIFt? OR wILL you shifT INTO PeRSeverAnce oR sOMEtHIng eLsE? WiLL The OrAnGE mAGIC simPLy TeaR yOu APaRT dEpENdInG On youR TRAit? The amOuNT Of posSIBiliTiEs is EndlesS!"** '

Sans glanced at Papyrus as Gaster's attention moved elsewhere. Papyrus was watching him, expression set into something he had yet to see on his brother post-coma. Sans forced himself to relax and nodded. He hoped it translated to what he had intended: they would work together to get out of this alive.

The nod he received in return was short, brisk, and seemed to acknowledge and agree with his unspoken statement. Even as their focus was returned to Gaster as the thing turned to face them once more, Sans couldn't help but worry that Papyrus was going to do this on his own, though. Despite everything, Papyrus was a Royal Guard here and, while there wasn't much in the way of crime, they were still trained to handle situations that civilians were not and Sans – for all intents and purposes – was still a civilian.

He hoped that whatever training Papyrus had gone through had been enough to keep them both alive and persevering through these hard times.

Sans screamed himself hoarse over the next few hours. While Gaster took to working on Papyrus first, even Papyrus's strong will could not keep the lankier skeleton from screaming in agony as Gaster started injecting him with Bravery. Phantom memories of going through a similar process with a concoction that burned through his system and made it feel like his bones would melt only made him scream more.

He had fought and struggled, unable to do anything as his younger brother was tortured for some sicko's pleasure leaving his bones chaffed and tender. The helplessness of living through resets he could not alter returned with a vengeance and by the time Gaster threw them into a small, dark room with no windows, he was equally as exhausted as Papyrus was.

Each movement only jostled injuries he had inflicted on himself. He dragged himself over to Papyrus, careful fingers skirting over puncture marks and cracks till he was able to smooth his hand over Papyrus's skull. He was already unconscious, which was both reassuring and worrisome but Sans didn't dare wake his brother. Shifting so that he could rest Papyrus's head on his lap, he carefully pulled his soul from his chest to illuminate the space.

It was extremely difficult to even coax his soul out in the first place. His entire being was aware that this was not a safe place to be doing such things but Sans needed to see and he feared summoning any actual magic would do more harm than good. The inverted heart eventually formed just outside his ribcage and showed that even his ribs had not made it through the day without being rubbed raw by his thrashing. He flinched away from dark, wet streak on his shirt, knowing all too well what color it would be once they were brought into proper lighting again.

For whatever reason, he bled like a human did. Whether or not he already knew that was a moot point. The evidence was seeping into his shirt and dripping down his arms. A glance towards Papyrus's injuries gave the same result. Though there wasn't much in the way of "blood" from them, there was still enough of the substance escaping to color Papyrus's bones in the dark color illuminated by Sans's soul.

Before he used up all he had left in the way of magical energy, he took a look around the barren room. Their injuries mattered little when they were given nothing to tend to them with. The room was nothing more than a space with no windows. The door was sealed so well that not even a sliver of light escaped from where the door was supposed to be. The low light of his soul did nothing in the way of actually outlining the door from the wall it was situated within.

With a sigh, he let his soul disappear, feeling its weight return to the center of his being. There was no sign they were being watched, there was no way to know how the door even worked, and Sans was far too tired to try and figure out how to get them out. So, he situated himself around Papyrus and settled in for the most uncomfortable sleep of his life.

Morning seemed to arrive too early as the door was yanked open and tendrils yanked them both out of the room.

There was no distinction between hours, minutes, or days, and Gaster seemed able to work without food or rest, tossing Sans and Papyrus in what Sans had come to calling The Room at arbitrary times. The day that followed their first night had been painful. The bonds wrapped around raw bone making Sans hiss and twitch. It kept him from acting out except in moments that seemed so dire. The second time they were tossed into The Room, Sans had the energy to actually try and get them out.

He couldn't remember if he had been successful or not.

What could have been days or hours of this nonsense had led to Sans feeling beyond exhausted. It wasn't till what he deemed their seventh day that he realized they weren't being fed. It explained why Papyrus was unconscious more often than not in the last few experiments, let alone when they were in The Room. Sans wished he could talk to Papyrus, give the other some form of comfort while they were both awake but even Sans was unconscious by the time they were locked, wrists, ankles, and torso constantly raw from the bindings on his table with no food to replenish his strength or magic.

He still didn't understand why Gaster had him strapped to a table and not simply left in the dark room to brood while Papyrus was experimented on. After all, Sans had given up trying to figure out a way to free them both. Neither of them ever got enough of a break to regain their strength.

From time to time, the human Sans had mistaken for Frisk and, later, Chara, would come in at seemingly random moments. Sometimes they would help, sometimes they would watch. However, this time seemed different. When the child entered, they were pulling along a tv, wires dragging on the floor to someplace out of sight. Gaster stopped in the middle of some experiment on Papyrus. Whatever this one was, it seemed relatively painless. Papyrus had slept through its entirety, only to stir at Gaster's rousing.

" **AW. good. seT iT UP tHeRe."**

Sans frowned, noting how Papyrus just stared at the ceiling. "What's all this, G?" he inquired, watching as tendrils reached out and messed with something out of sight.

" **A giFT, Of sorTS. I fELT iT ImpoRTAnt tO knOcK DoWN YoUR HoPe A feW MORE pEGS So tHaT YOu doN't gEt aNY IdeAs."**

Sans wasn't sure how sane Gaster was any more if he was presuming correctly what the _monster_ was talking about. "What kind of ideas?"

" **oh, AnY pErtaINiNg To tHe CHanCE oF bEing RESCUEd OR BEinG AblE tO esCApE ON Your oWn. HONestlY, YOu could taKE YoUR PICk. iT WIll be RaTheR oBvIOus HERE iN A momenT."**

His soul dropped a bit at that as he forced out a chuckle. Damn, he hadn't realized he had been holding out a bit of hope for that. "Heh, didn't know you had a funny bone, G. That almost sounded real."

There was no reaction to his words and Sans wasn't overly surprised.

" **hmm. WELL, I gUESs yOU CAN TelL me HoW FUNnY the JOke iS WheN yOU SEE thE punChlInE. The feeD shOUld Be in pLacE AnD LIVE."** The tv clicked on, buzzing as static filled the screen briefly. Sans spared his brother a glance as they waited for the image to clear, grateful to see Papyrus was awake and watching, even if it looked like he was about ready to pass out again. He hoped with all his being that Gaster was at least feeding Papyrus through all this. The image cleared, revealing a familiar room with a familiar figure in the bed. **"AW. goOd. we hapPEn to Be EaRLy."**

"Early for what?" he asked, gaze locked on the redhead lying in the bed. The only thing that kept him from thinking the other was dead was the slight rise and fall of the blanket over Alex's chest.

There was movement at the edge of the screen and Sans realized he was viewing the room from the nightstand. It was an awkward angle but it gave him clear view of Alex and anyone that moved to be beside the human. Toriel was the first to enter the feed, though her attention wasn't on Alex.

" _Thank you, Doctor,"_ she said to someone off screen. There was more movement as Sans took in Alphys, Undyne, and Asgore all gathering closer, though the way things were situated, Asgore was just a guess. He didn't know anyone else with such a large shadow.

There was movement from the bed and Alex's eyes opened. The gaze was unfocused and exhausted but the expression changed quickly as Alex turned his gaze to those around him. Sans felt a small smile creep onto his face as Alex squinted at them. Someone needed to hand him his glasses. _"What...how long have I been out?"_

Alphys was the one to pass Alex his glasses as the human sat up, most of his head leaving frame only to leave his scruffy jaw in sight.

" _Three days,"_ Toriel supplied, giving Sans a proper count of days. It would seem Gaster had no issue messing with their internal clocks.

" _Did Papyrus find Sans?"_

Sans perked up at that, though Gaster's slight shifting at the edge of his vision suddenly had him concerned for his partner's health.

Toriel frowned, asking, _"Who are Papyrus and Sans?"_

With how often his magic felt like ice on his bones, one would think he would have gotten used to the sensation, but it send a chill down his spine and made him flinch from his raw bones being jostled against the straps that had caused the injuries in the first place.

He wished he could see Alex's face. Instead, all he saw was Alex hunched torso, his arms hanging loosely to pool in his lap, jaw line static in frame. There was a beat, something that Sans couldn't read even as he noticed both Undyne and who he assumed was Asgore tensed at the edge of the screen. A soft smile curled Alex's lips but without seeing the rest of the human's face, Sans couldn't read it. _"Aw. Sorry. Guess my dream is sticking with me far more than I would have liked."_

" _That's quite alright, dear,"_ Toriel encouraged, reaching over and patting Alex's shoulder. The human didn't flinch. Sans wondered if that was an act. _"You get some more rest and I'll bring you dinner. Do stay in bed. Your injuries won't heal if you strain yourself."_

Alex laid back, nodding as everyone shuffled out. Those green eyes flickered over to the nightstand and Sans felt as if Alex was looking right at him for the briefest of moments before the human moved and did something above the camera. _"Never seen this kind of flower before. Wonder where they got it from."_

The feed was cut, or stopped, and the child pulled the tv away as Gaster turned to the brothers, the expression on the mask like face pleased. Sans glared at it.

" **ComE now, SANs,"** Gaster practically purred, a tendril reaching over and curling against his cheek to cup it. He turned his head away even as the tendril followed, keeping contact. **"tHeRE IS No NEed FOR Such aN EXPRessION. I wIlL makE SUrE yOU liVe A loNG, fruiTfUl LIFE, evEn If YOur friEndS No LONgER RemEmbEr YOU."**

"You have a hand in their lack of memory," he accused, not relenting up on his glare even as exhaustion made it hard. "And Alex seeming to remember us upon waking up makes you uncomfortable." The sharp grin was easy. "Worried there might be a nick in your plan, there, G?"

Gaster bristled at that, though he bubbled more than bristled in Sans's opinion. Gaster was suddenly upon him, the black mass that was Gaster pressing into Sans making the stout skeleton squirm against his bonds.

" **do NOt tEst mE, SUbjeCt two. I wilL glAdly ShifT FrOM expERImeNTiNG On SUbJecT oNe to SeE JUSt hoW MUCh MaGIc yOU Can ExPEnD BEForE you DUST yOURselF WitH no mOre maGIc tO REMAin WHolE."** Papyrus thrashed weakly against his own bonds. Sans could hear the commotion but whatever Papyrus had tried to shout was garbled. **"i CAn mAKe it So that SUBJect OnE wOuLD bE UnABlE To Be A FUNCtIoNING mEMbER Of SOcieTy aGaiN, lEt AlOnE Let HIm LivE. mAYBE I'lL See HOw FaR i can PUsh HiM with** _ **DetermInatIon**_ **, aS i HAd OncE wIth YOU."**

"Don't you dare," Sans growled.

Gaster chuckled. **"aS iF ThERe iS anyThING You CAN do SHOuLD i CHoose tO DO so."** The mass moved away and Sans squinted against the sharp light of the lab space. He quickly looked over to Papyrus to see the other glaring at Gaster, his mouth covered by a thick tendril. Gaster moved towards Papyrus, the tendril keeping Papyrus from speaking stroking the skeleton's cheek. **"dO YOU knoW HOW EnTERTAInING it Is tO waTch yOU WhIttle aWaY IntO NOThing?"** He looked to Sans, the mask almost on its side as it faced him. **"you CERtaiNlY hAVE LASTeD FAR LONgEr than I hAD antIciPATeD WiTHOUt FOOd Or magIc."** He stepped away, looking to Papyrus as he moved. **"MAybE i WILL FEEd the botH Of YOu sOon to KeeP You gOing."** Sans jerked against his bonds when that mask like face turned back to him, grinning far larger than he cared to notice, pissed. **"Or NOt."**

The round of experiments started up again and Sans lost track of time; Sans was not left out of the torture which probably didn't help. Where his brother was subjected to trait magic infusions, Sans was forced to use magic in ways that were not normal, let alone safe for his magic level. At least Gaster had followed through with his words and started to feed them, if what they were given could even be considered food anymore. The food was in such horrible state that Sans's body rejected it as soon as he had consumed it no matter how much hunger gnawed at his soul. He got so little from the food that it only kept him from Falling Down.

Somehow, thankfully, Papyrus was able to eat the food without the severe consequences Sans was subjected to. The longer they went with food, the stronger Papyrus became and he was able to stay awake longer than Sans. Sans stopped trying to eat after four consecutive meals where he couldn't even get a bite down without his body rejecting it instantly.

If only Sans could just keep some of it down, then maybe they could get out together.

After what could only be perceived as a week later, Sans hit the floor hard as he was tossed into their holding cell of a room. Papyrus was at his side before the door even closed but even as they both had clearly heard the crack, the door slammed shut, swallowing them in darkness.

He hissed between clenched teeth as pain laced up into his shoulder and down into his hand. Even without looking, he knew his humerus was broken and it sent his magic in a frenzy as it tried to scrape together any remaining magic to keep him from losing his arm.

Papyrus's hands were careful but sure, pulling him upright and Sans's sockets fluttered open to discover that the space was illuminated by the orange magic laced with blue magic licking at Papyrus's hands. Sans didn't dare look down at his arm. He was sure that he would faint if he saw the damage.

Papyrus's expression was stoic as he wrapped a hand gingerly around Sans's break. Sans shoved his other hand into his mouth, stifling the scream that had nearly escaped him. The orange and blue magic suddenly flared green and the injury flared before the magic turned orange and he had the strangest sensation that spread from where Papyrus's hand gripped his humerus. He turned wide eyed sockets to the point of contact, watching as waves of orange magic entered him. Despite the change in color, his entire being hummed with pleasure at the feel of Papyrus's magic washing over him. But it wasn't that simple. Papyrus wasn't just wrapping him in magic, he was being given Papyrus's magic. Suddenly all his exhaustion vanished and he felt far more awake than he had in who knew how many days.

The magic spluttered out, casting them into darkness, but Papyrus had yet to move and Sans looked where his brother should be. "Papyrus," he whispered, wary to utter the words much louder in case someone was listening. "What..."

"I can transfer magic without any ill effects. I did it after the first time you were unable to keep the food down by accident," Papyrus responded, his voice equally soft. "I've been practicing while you've been asleep ever since."

Sans reached forward blindly. He found his brother's arms and held on tight. "Papyrus. You shouldn't-you need to keep that magic for yourself. At least with me Gaster won't know any difference."

There was a pause and the way things shifted under his touch, Sans knew Papyrus had moved but didn't know how. Papyrus urged, "I can retain the food and the trait infusions is simply giving me more magic that I care to have. At least this way Gaster can't kill you simply by draining you completely of magic."

Sans's soul went out to his brother. So that statement had bothered Papyrus as others had Sans. He gave his brother's arms an encouraging squeeze. "We'll get out of this, Pap," he promised. "Even if no one is coming for us, we'll get ourselves out. I promise."

Papyrus chuckled and the sound made Sans's soul hurt. When had his brother become so broken? "Shouldn't it be me that is reassuring you? After all, I came to rescue you."

Sans huffed a laugh, tears stinging the back of his sockets. "Didn't know the Great Papyrus was lousy at anything. Guess I was wrong."

The laugh that escaped Papyrus was a choked by a sob. "Yeah," came the strangled reply. "The Great Papyrus is lousy at rescues, it would seem."

Sans reached blindly for Papyrus's face. He found Papyrus's shoulder, then his neck, before he found the side of Papyrus's skull. It was easy to cup the other side from there. He gently pulled Papyrus's head close, pressing their foreheads haphazardly together in the dark. At least he managed to keep them from banging their heads together. "Hey, don't talk like that," he countered. "If you weren't here, I'd already be dead. If nothing else, you've rescued me from the brute force that is Gaster's attention."

This time the laugh was free of any sob and Papyrus wrapped a hand around the back of Sans's skull. "I'm glad I was able to do something after all this."

The lock on the door clicked and Sans smiled bright. "No matter how small," the light from the hallway beyond hurt but it gave his full view of the orange tears tracking down Papyrus's face, "you saved me by just being my brother." Several tendrils shot into the room, ensnaring the both of them. "Don't forget that."

Papyrus beamed at him. "Never."

They were yanked out of the room and through a maze of halls till they were slammed into their respective tables, bound in place. Sans was surprised to find that they were both upright, though. He bristled, suddenly on edge. His gaze settled on the tv. What was going on?

The screen showed static, the sound filling the space till the video feed flickered and cleared, though the motion was rather nauseating. The camera was shifted about and Sans realized the copper brown color at the bottom edge of the screen was from a clay pot. The angle and what he could see clearly spoke of said pot being carried by whoever was walking with Alex. Alex looked drawn, tired, and in a bit of pain. Guilt made Sans recoil. He must have done more damage than he had thought.

He glanced around. Gaster must be somewhere behind them because he couldn't see the mass of goop but Papyrus was within sight. Sans noticed the frown on Papyrus's face as the other continued to watch the screen and Sans turned his own attention back to the screen. There was yet to be any talking so Sans wasn't sure what Papyrus was trying to figure out. Sans mildly wondered where Alex was walking and with who.

Alex came to a stop, staring at something. When the person carrying the potted camera realized he was no longer walking with them, the person stopped and turned, looking back and giving the brothers a clear view of Alex standing in the middle of the walkway staring at what Sans realized was his lab. Caution tape had been crossed over the closed door, a hazard note taped to the center of the door and, if Sans was reading Alex's profile right, Alex hadn't forgotten about them.

" _Alex?"_

It was Toriel carrying the pot and Alex looked to her, his gaze above the potted camera. He offered her a smile that didn't reach his eyes. _"Sorry."_ He looked back at the door. _"Couldn't help but think how much of a shame it is that such a volatile accident had happened in this particular lab. I happened to like this one."_ He started to approach Toriel. _"Feels like I lost a partner, ya know?"_

" _I'm sorry,"_ Toriel apologized even as Sans's soul sang. Alex was faking all of this. He would be looking for them. He ignored the voice in the back of his head that sounded too much like Gaster accusing him of false hope. _"I don't understand."_

Alex's smile was tired, sad. _"That's alright, Tori. May have something to do with that weird dream I had a few days ago. I think it's bleeding into my other dreams and making me think a bit too much in theoretic and philosophical areas of life."_

" _Will talking help?"_ Toriel offered.

Alex shrugged as they started walking again. _"Probably not but I'll get about to finding someone to chat with. Thank you, though, Tori."_

" _Any time, Alex."_

The feed ended as Gaster came oozing into view from between the brothers. Sans flexed his hands, his raw bones not quite as tender thanks to the magic Papyrus had given him. He glowered, doing his best to suppress any hint of what he was hoping he had seen. "Yeah, yeah, no one's coming for us. You've already made that very clear, what, a week ago? Come on, G. What else are you gaining from showing this to us?"

Sans flinched from the chuckle that rang sharply in his skull. **"dO You knOW THe SIgNiFicanCe OF THat CameRa, SuBjECT twO?"**

Sans grew uneasy as he shook his skull no. "Am I suppose to?"

Gaster turned his attention to Papyrus. **"subJecT oNE?"**

Sans looked at his brother, confused. Papyrus's expression was closed off but Sans suddenly had the sinking feeling he had missed something.

Papyrus's words only confirmed this.

"You have eyes everywhere."

" **VErY gOod, SuBJECT one. AND DO you kNOw whAt tHaT meAns fOR YOu AND sUbJeCT TWO?"**

Papyrus closed his sockets briefly and Sans felt like screaming as Papyrus looked Gaster in the eye. "It means that you know that I can transfer magic and that Sans and I are going to do our best to escape."

" **exACtLy."** Sans stared at Papyrus in disbelief. Why did he spill it? They didn't actually know if Gaster knew! Why would he- **"I am rather IMpREsseD, SUbject ONE. i expEcTeD thaT dECiSIoN TO Be So mUCh HardeR FoR yOU TO mAKe."**

"What decision?" Sans croaked, his gaze not leaving Papyrus.

" **gO AheAD, subjEct ONE. telL HIm."**

Papyrus didn't meet his gaze as he stated, "Should I have lied, I would have watched you suffer a torturing and then separated. Telling the truth means that I take half of your torturing."

Sans's gaze snapped to Gaster. "What about the separating?" he demanded. "He didn't say anything about the separating."

Gaster laughed. **"as if I WoULD aLloW YOU TWo to be In THE samE roOm For exTeNdeD PeRiodS oF tiME kNowInG THaT SUbJect one hAS FinallY dIsCOVEreD hOW tO TRANsfEr MAgic. i haVe No NeED tO Risk YOu TWo EScaPING."** The grin sent his way sent a shudder of fear down Sans's spine. **"i cAn't HAVe you teaChiNg sUbJECt ONe Any of YOuR TrIcks, caN i?"**

Sans gave a barked laugh even as a sense of betrayal tangled itself inside his soul. "Oh please. As if any trick I know Pap hasn't already figured out." He gave Gaster a vicious grin. "You just want to make it harder for us to get out."

Gaster did the equivalent of a shrug as tendrils started to weave their way between Sans's bones. He shuddered in disgust. Hadn't he already vowed to avoid such situations? **"pErHAps."** There was a sickening snap and Sans screamed. Gaster's face hovered over his as Sans panted against the pain racing up his leg. He tried not to think about the tendrils weaving their way among his ribs. **"oR PERhApS i Am USinG it aS AN EXcusE TO SEE HoW wEll you HEal wiThOUT SUBJeCT one TO ComE to your AiD."**

There were several snaps and cracks and Sans screamed himself hoarse as his entire chest erupted in pain.

* * *

Tumblr: undertaleau-othertale


	5. Part 2: Othertale Chapter 3

**Part 2: Othertale**

 _Chapter 3_

Alex opened his eyes, exhausted. He wasn't sleeping well and, honestly, he wasn't trying to. He scratched at his scruff slowly turning into a beard as he pushed himself upright. The yellow flower was back on his nightstand and he had the growing suspicion that it hadn't been placed there by Toriel or any of the others. He ran his hand over the base of the flower, fingers brushing over what he was assuming was a camera tucked close into the soil and stem. He couldn't see it, didn't dare try and pull the object free. Instead, he dragged his fingers up the stem to the large yellow petals. He wondered if the quaking was from his doing, his imagination, or from the plant itself.

"Time to wake up, little buddy," he spoke, even if he was only speaking to himself. He rubbed at a petal affectionately. It grounded him, for whatever reason. "Got a lot of work ahead of us."

He clambered out of bed and went about his morning routine. By the time he focused on the flower again, it had perked up from its hunched state. He picked the potted plant up and tucked it under his arm. "Think Toriel would bring you to me again if I left you behind?"

There was no response, not that he ever expected one. Toriel seemed to be rather adamant that the plant stayed with him. Alex had tried questioning it but he got more answers out of the flower than her and the flower didn't talk. Ten days without the brothers was driving him nuts. Thankfully, his personal lab could not be entered by anyone but him, now. As soon as he had been able to, he had redone the lock program, erasing any other input codes.

Except Sans's.

Even with the risk of someone else finding Sans's code, Sans's lab had yet to be breached. There was still caution and hazard tape all over that set of doors and Alex knew it was because no one could get in. Otherwise it would have been cleared out by now and changed over. This way he was certain no one could get into his as well.

He stepped into the lab far enough to close the door. Once the door was sealed, he placed the flower down on a table next to the door. He clipped the pot to the table – most likely out of paranoia – like he did most days now and started making his way through the maze of rolling whiteboards all covered in notes and such of what had been on the far wall before the brothers had vanished. He made sure to keep all the notes that had any of Sans's script on them on the back sides so that the camera the flower held wouldn't see them; so that whoever was watching believed he had forgotten Sans too. He had even gone through and meticulously duplicated notes so that he had enough to fake it for a while.

Beyond the whiteboard maze was his true project. It wasn't heavily displayed seeing as he didn't have much to go on, but it was very clear on what he was trying to do.

A map was pinned to the wall that had once been covered in notes. It wasn't overly large but it was a map of the surrounding area. Shortly after he had woken up, he had gone on a wild goose chase and ended up extremely lucky. The map was marked with the pockets of residual magic he had come across and recognized as Sans's magic. He wasn't sure how or why they had remained even after four days, but they had. The only downside was that it was all a dead end. At the last spot – some tiny clearing in among the trees – his trail ran dry and he was forced to figure something else out. Beneath the most current map of the grounds around the Lab and Snowdin itself was a desk laden in mounds of archived topography maps. He was looking for discrepancies, someplace that someone would think no one else would know about and he had yet to come across anything.

Along with the maps were notes upon notes of speculations on how everyone gained acute amnesia and how to break it. He wasn't having much luck on the latter, but his lead theory had something to do with the yellow flower sitting next to the door. He had it circled on the page, even. He just didn't know the how quite yet.

Beyond that and pretending to work on the projects he was supposed to be focusing on, he wasn't doing much. He rubbed at his face, knocking his glasses askew as he did so. He had gone back 30 years and still nothing stood out in the direction he needed. He didn't feel up to battling with maps today so he picked up the stack of notes he had set aside to put up when he returned and walked back to the maze. He started on the ones in front of the flower, pinning things here and there with magnets, taking his time to consider what was where, jot down some made up notes every so often.

It didn't take long for the few pages he wanted to post to get up and things to look messed with. He reached back to touch the plant, rubbing a petal affectionately. "I'll be back, buddy. I need a smoke break and see if I can't scour up some new resources."

He left his lab and crossed through the halls feeling restless under the stress of finding the brothers. Sidestepping a small group passing by, he found his back against Papyrus's door and slipped in as the group passed without paying him any mind.

He flicked the light on when the door clicked shut behind him. The bed was still a wreck from when Papyrus no doubt flung himself out of it on that morning, worry for his brother driving his actions. He leaned back against the closed door, fighting the crushing sensation settling over him.

They were his family. If he had gone missing, they would be doing this for him.

The feeling didn't go away but he was able to step into the room.

Papyrus didn't always live in the labs. The brothers had a cottage on the edge of Snowdin proper, some little subtown that was on one of the main roads into Waterfall. He had visited it a few times but the instances were so short and fleeting that he didn't really remember it well.

He paused as a picture caught his eye and he smiled softly, reaching out to pick it up.

The brothers were standing in front of their local library famous for its misspelled sign but the angle was enough to also catch the tail end of the one diner in the small subtown's sign: Grillby's. The brothers were grinning, arms wrapped around each other in a brotherly embrace, happy as can be. There were a few other folks in the photo, people Alex didn't know or had briefly met but lacked names for, and they were all happy, all smiling for the camera.

While Papyrus didn't always live in the labs, he had been told that Papyrus had always had a room due to being part of the Royal Guard and Sans working in the labs. Something about allowing the brothers to remain close even as they both worked far too long for it to be safe to head back to their little cottage. Papyrus had mentioned once that he had felt far too lonely in their house when Sans worked obscene hours at the lab and had been grateful when Asgore had offered him living quarters near Sans's own.

He put the photo back down.

Due to Sans's coma, Papyrus had been living exclusively in the labs, working as security for the building and surrounding areas so Papyrus's room was far more lived in than it probably would have been under normal circumstances.

He walked the circumference of the room slowly, partially taking in what was there and doing his best not to drown in the sorrow eating away at his soul. He misjudged the distance between himself and a bookcase and his elbow caught the spine of a book sticking out. A good number of books from the shelve thudded to the floor. Flinching, he knelt and started gathering books.

A few were pristine, a mark of how well Papyrus took care of his things, but a few looked worn and were far older than the others. He chuckled to himself as he picked up an old picture book, the same book he had no doubt clipped. The cover was worn and the spine looked fragile and yet the book shone proudly of its love and use. Sans had mentioned once of a book he used to read to his brother when they had been younger, of how Papyrus still had it and would still read it, sometimes even out loud to himself. Alex stacked the books already in his arm near his knee before he carefully let the book fall open.

His soft, fond smile fell away. Staring up at him was a page he had glanced a few times when he was checking in on Papyrus back when the lanky skeleton had stayed at his comatose brother's side. Had he thought that the old book would bring his brother back or simply give him a sort of comfort while Sans was unconscious?

He carefully closed the book and picked up the stack only to pause again.

There was something tucked against the back of the shelf.

Confused, Alex put the stack back down and reached for the dark object hidden behind the wall of books.

His fingers wrapped around a rather familiar material and, as he pulled it out, he found himself holding onto the strap of a camera case; a very dusty, very familiar camera case at that. Resting the bag on his lap, he unzipped the case and found within the very video camera he had been expecting to see. Astonished that the thing had been buried, he pulled it out and pressed the eject button. There wasn't a tape inside but that didn't mean much. Looking up, he reached behind what books remained and found a box. The lid had just as much dust on it as the video camera case and his touching left very clear marks as he pulled the lid free. Inside were a number of tapes but only one was labeled. He popped the labeled tape into the video camera, opened the preview screen, and pressed play.

At first there was no reaction as the camera came to life. Then, there was static before it focused non-too kindly on some angle. There wasn't any audio but Alex didn't care about that. He pressed the fast forward button and watched, looking for something specific.

He jumped when the part came up, the video pausing as his finger smashed the pause button. There, on the screen, were Sans and Toriel. Giddy glee filled him as he quickly pressed the rewind button before shoving the preview screen shut and stuffing the camera still rewinding back into the bag. He carefully replaced the box of tapes back where he had found it before he returned all the books to the shelf. Scrambling to his feet, bag in hand, he quickly left Papyrus's room and made sure the door closed completely behind him before he started his search for Toriel.

It seemed that fate was on his side because no sooner had he rounded the corner did he run into her.

"Oh, Alex!" she exclaimed, paws outstretched to catch him as he stumbled. "Are you alright, my child?"

"I'm fine, Toriel," he offered with a soft smile. She was potless, which was a bonus for him. "I was actually just looking for you."

She perked up at that. "You were?" Her gaze moved to the bag in his hand. "What is that, my child?"

Alex found himself grinning. "The reason I was looking for you." He glanced about, piecing together where they were and where what he needed was at. He focused on her as he asked, "Do you mind following me for a short while? I have to show this in a specific room."

Her concern was clear on her face but she followed him nonetheless as he hurried back the way he had come only to bypass the corner he had rounded and continued on to the stairs. He paused regularly to let her catch up but his excitement of finally having a chance to getting someone on his side, someone to finally see through the bullshit they had been fed, was making him equal parts impatient and giddy.

Down two floors and through secluded hallways, it wasn't till they were nearly at their destination that Toriel voiced her concern. "My child, what could you have to show me that requires us to be in such a secluded part of the lab?"

Alex glanced back at her, the dingy hallway lacking any sort of upkeep due to the lack of use of this particular area. "What I want to show you is old and requires specific equipment." The lie sounded odd and he looked away, trying to play it off as embarrassment. "That, and I don't want to be disturbed. It's supposed to be a surprise for everyone but I wanted your input first seeing as I'll need your help."

She brightened at his half lie and he found himself relaxing. "Oh, Alex. Why did you not say so in the beginning?"

He came to a stop at an old door, smiling weakly. "It's a surprise, remember?"

The room was coated in a layer of dust and about the size of most of their supply closets now but it was very clear that the space had once been an office. Up against the wall was the thing he had been looking for. It was an old box tv with a VCR. He went about checking the wiring and the power as he asked, "Can you close the door and get a few chairs, Toriel? I'm going to get this thing going."

"You brought me down here for an antique like this?" she asked, incredulous. "Certainly you have equipment to play VHS tapes in your lab."

He beamed at her but his nerves made it feel weird on his face. "Trust me. Once you see this, you'll understand why I wanted to make sure we weren't interrupted." He focused back on his task, pleased when the tv powered on without a hitch. "It's supposed to be a surprise and I don't want anyone finding out."

He pulled the video camera out and ejected the tape as Toriel voiced her concern. "Alex, you are acting very strangely."

There was the whirring of the VCR taking the tape and prepping to play it as he responded as he stood. "I know it may look that way but I'm not, Toriel." He offered her a soft smile as the tape took and the screen turned from blue to static. "I promise."

The first video on the tape started. The entire screen was taken up by a blurry view of something brown but the audio came across as clear as day and Alex jolted at hearing Sans's voice after such a stressful week. He glanced at Toriel but she had missed his reaction as she frowned at the television.

 _"-to start recording. There's an indicator here-" the view swung a bit to the left "-and here on the camera itself." The blurry view swung back to the right. "There are controls here and here and if you press thi-"_

 _The view abruptly changed, the audio cutting along with it. Now there is a shot of something colorful and very blurry. Sans's voice returns. "-cus should be here somewhere." The colorful thing shifted in view – or the camera did – as there was a clicking near the microphone. "Try these here and see if we can't get any focus."_

 _There were a few seconds of the camera's lens was being focused, white objects that focused into bones only to defocus a moment later crossed the view field. Finally the screen was focused on what was now clearly a shoulder and chest covered in an ugly holiday sweater. There was the tail end of a pun meaning it was most likely Sans the camera was pointed at. It was confirmed when the camera moved to take in Sans's grinning face. Despite the smile, Sans looked exhausted. "Got a clear view of me, bro?"_

 _"Yeah," Papyrus commented, the volume louder due to proximity to the microphone, though it sounded muffled despite that. "Say hi to everyone, Sans."_

 _Sans waved, sockets closing as he offered a meek, "Hey everyone."_

 _"Merry Giftmas!"Papyrus happily cheered and Sans's expression softened as the skeleton opened his sockets._

 _"Merry Giftmas, Pap."_

The video cut out, leaving the screen full of static for a moment. Alex felt Toriel's gaze fall on him and knew she had questions but the next section of video started and Alex was grateful when her gaze returned to the television.

 _There was a brief moment of the view focusing, voices in the background. A shift, a loud thunk, and the camera focused on Sans and Toriel sitting at the other end of a table able to seat six. Movement on the left hand side of the screen doesn't come fully onto screen but Sans watched whatever was moving with a curious expression, Toriel's expression amused and fond as she watched the movement as well._

 _"All set, Pap?" Sans asked whatever had been moving, the smile on his face turning mischievous._

 _"The stand doesn't really fit the camera but it will work for when I need it," Papyrus returned, voice coming from far left._

 _"Well, as long as it_ stands _up to expectations, we'll be fine."_

As the audio of the video Toriel and Papyrus laughing and chuckling respectively at the pun filled the room, Alex heard Toriel chuckling beside him. He glanced her way, finding heavy confusion written all over her face as her eyes shined and a smile fought to come forward at the joke. He briefly wondered what she must think, seeing herself yet potentially not remembering the moment.

 _"I'm sure it will all_ develop _properly once we give it some time," Toriel added, her smile broadening._

Toriel guffawed beside him.

 _Sans fell into a fit of laughter as Papyrus commented, "Lady Toriel, that was horrible."_

 _"At least her_ focus _was on point," Sans countered between what remained of his laughter._

 _"And I_ shutter _to think of such a fact," Papyrus countered, his words sharp and quick but the hint of enjoyment was there to speak loudly of the lack of true annoyance at the situation._

 _Sans and Toriel roared with laughter._

Alex found himself chuckling at that. It had been quite some time since he had heard Papyrus make puns like that and the last time he could actually remember one was before Sans's coma. He glanced at Toriel to see her laughing right alone with her videotaped self.

 _"Sans."_

Alex focused back on the television as Toriel's voice came from the speakers.

 _"How are you_ clicking _with Fatum?" Toriel asked, a mischievous glint in her eye. Sans chuckled but gave her a confused expression. Toriel nodded towards something and Sans looked behind him. He grinned._

 _"Fatum!" Sans called out, waving towards something out of view. "Come here a sec."_

Alex watched himself enter the screen and felt a heavy wave of nostalgia for the moment. He knew exactly what was coming and, despite the lame joke, it had been the perfect way for them to break the ice.

 _Alex came to stand between Sans and Toriel at the end of the table, glancing at the camera before giving Sans a skeptical look. Before he could even get a word in edge wise, Sans was already starting his joke._

 _"Knock knock," Sans started, grin growing with the words._

 _Alex rolled his eyes. "Who's there."_

 _"Alex."_

 _Alex narrowed his eyes at the skeleton but Sans didn't let anything up. He asked carefully, "Alex who?"_

 _"You'll ask but I don't think you'll find an answer."_

 _There was laughter from even those not even at the table and Sans kept grinning at Alex as Alex gave him a very unamused look. Toriel was trying to suppress her laughter and was failing._

 _"Knock knock," Sans spoke again, next joke clearly ready to go._

 _Alex arched an eyebrow and spoke, "Come in."_

 _Papyrus and Toriel lost it as Sans grew very confused. Alex, with a pleased smile on his face, patted Sans on the skull affectionately before walking away and off screen. Papyrus's face came into view, tears streaking down the laughing face as the video cut._

Static took over and Alex leaned back in his chair. He knew he had to look at Toriel, to see if it had worked, but he was scared. What if it hadn't? What else could he do to jog her memories?

Swallowing thickly, he shoved down the what ifs and looked over.

His eyes widened as his heart leapt in hope.

Toriel had her large paws pressed over her mouth, tears soaking the fur of her cheeks.

"Toriel?" he asked carefully, softly.

She jerked and looked at him, eyes wide. "Oh, Alex," she whimpered from behind her paws. "How could I have forgotten them both?"

Alex relaxed, sighing in relief as he offered her a weak smile. His eyes watered but he ignored them. "I don't know but I am so glad you remember."

She rubbed at her eyes, her cheeks, trying to free them from water as she spoke. "I do not understand, though. How could I forget them? I truly did not remember who they were."

Alex's face hardened. "I think-"

 _"I don't think there is anything wrong with it."_

His head snapped around. He hadn't realized there was more on the tape, hadn't gone beyond what he had been looking for and hadn't thought on whether the camera had been used after the first video or not. However, his own voice proved him wrong and he stare at the screen to see himself and Papyrus standing in the brother's cottage kitchen with their backs to the kitchen table the camera was resting on.

 _Alex was washing something in the sink as Papyrus stirred something on the stove. Alex looked over at Papyrus briefly, smiling. "So. Do you have any wishes?"_

 _Papyrus tipped his head to the side, his free hand going to his hip. "Hmmm...Just one," Papyrus conceded, "but it's kind of silly."_

 _Alex snorted. "I doubt that."_

 _"If I say my wish, you promise you will refrain from laughing?" Papyrus demanded, shaking a sauce covered wooden spoon at Alex._

 _Alex looked his way, a fond yet serious look on his face. "Of course."_

 _Papyrus turned back to the stove, hesitated, and then said, "Someday, I'd like to leave the Underground we're all trapped in and stand under the sky, looking at the world all around with the sun high above. That is my wish."_

 _A sad chuckle came from Alex as the sound of running water stopped. Papyrus turned to him again with a defiant expression edged in hurt. He wielded the wooden spoon like a weapon once more, pointing it at Alex. "Hey, you promised not to laugh."_

 _Alex brought his hands up. "Sorry. It's just...that's my wish too." Alex gave Papyrus a sad smile before he turned so that he was leaning back against the sink as he dried his hands. "What about you, Sans? Got any wishes?"_

 _The camera was jostled and the image blurred till it settled a bit unfocused on what was clearly Sans's chin and mouth. The smile – blurred as it was – seemed a touch sad. "My wish is to be right beside the both of you when we get out of here." His head turned, the sad smile vanishing as it was replaced with a different one. "But I want to see the stars. The real ones."_

The video ended and Alex sat there staring at the tv in disbelief, a fond, sad smile shaping his expression even as Toriel looked at him. He didn't respond till she touched his arm. He glanced over but the next video started and he looked away from her sympathetic gaze to see Papyrus's face filling the screen.

 _"Hello! I am the Great Papyrus and I am about to throw the most epic of birthday parties ever!" The camera was spun around to show one of the smaller conference rooms the lab had to offer. Papyrus turned the camera to the table nearest him that was laden with an assortment of snacks and hardier foods, though there was really only enough for about four people. "As you can see, I have prepared a plethora of snacks, plenty to keep us well fed till the upmost important dinner later this evening." The camera moved again, focusing on the small place in full for a moment before it was directed to another table. "I have gathered a variety of games and means of entertainment-" there were a few small stacks of videos in among the games that got focused on for a moment, "-so we will not grow bored in our merriment." The camera shifted about, finally taking in the whole of the decorations. Over the food table was a banner that was clearly homemade with streamers bounding their way along the top of the walls and balloons tucked here and there all over the place. "Over all, the decorations are set and we are now just waiting on my brother and Alex."_

 _The door to the room opened behind the camera and the view blurred only to settle none too steadily on Sans who was standing in the doorway with a surprised expression on his face. Sans made a move to ask something but Papyrus was already speaking._

 _"Have you seen Alex?" the lankier skeleton asked off camera, voice coming across strained. "As much as I was expecting you to be late, Alex said he would be on time." The camera moved to show the wall as it was gestured with. "I had pulled this out to distract myself but it hasn't really worked."_

 _There was a pause in the audio as the camera moved to show Papyrus's feet. Sans's voice finally spoke up. "Only reason why I'm late is because Alphys had asked for help on one of her projects. Alex had told me that he would be here when we went our separate ways earlier."_

 _Papyrus took a step forward, his voice growing tighter. "Sans..."_

 _There was a cut in the video as it changed to a blurred up and down motion, one that clearly spoke of Papyrus running with the camera still in hand. There's another cut in the video and the view is steadier though still shaky, the camera pointed at Papyrus's running feet. A final cut brought a still image of Sans's lower back and legs, a pair of shoed feet situated near the railing beyond. Sans's voice cut in, already in the middle of some sort of argument._

 _"-ver! You know we wanted to celebrate your birthday."_

 _The pair of feet near the railing turned, facing Sans. Alex's voice snapped, "I never asked for you guys to celebrate my birthday. I never mentioned it because I never wanted anyone to celebrate it. You guys took it upon yourselves to celebrate it and you expect me to go and celebrate something that isn't a good memory for me. I have never had a good birthday and there is-"_

 _"And that's the folly of others, not you," Sans cut in just a viciously. "I'm not leaving till you come and celebrate with us, damn it." Sans's body deflated. "You're family and we want to celebrate your fricken existence."_

 _There was a heavy pause before Sans started speaking again. "Whether you want it or not, Pap and I consider you family. And while Pap doesn't know all your history - let alone a hardy chunk - I know your past and Pap and I agreed that you need to say 'fuck you' to the ghosts of your dead family and come join ours."_

 _There was a heavy pause, one only broken by the distance sounds of Snowdin proper from beyond the edge of the balcony. Then, after what seemed to be an eternity, a watery laugh came from Alex. "Yeah," Alex spoke, voice shaking. "Ok."_

The static of the video ending was abrupt and Alex found himself staring at the empty screen not sure how to feel. He hadn't realized Papyrus had filmed that and now he wasn't even sure why the skeleton had done so. As much as it was nice to be reminded of the effort the brothers put forth to make sure he felt like family after that, he didn't like the reminder of where he had been at that point in his life.

The next video started and it was a cacophony of sound. The camera was being passed around at the larger birthday celebration that had occurred later the same evening. People were giving well wishes and talking about Alex but Alex stopped the video, the frozen image on the screen of Alex and Sans. Sans had an arm slung around Alex's neck, the hold looking a bit tight but they were both laughing. Sans had one socket closed but the eye light of the other socket was trained on Alex who was grinning. The glasses on Alex's face had hid the fact that Alex was close to tears even while grinning like that. It vanished when he pressed the eject button. Taking the tape out, he quickly stowed it away before he turned to face Toriel. Determination was written across his face, the last image he had seen burned into his mind. He wasn't sure what to make of Sans's expression but it was nice to know that even as he had been fighting to keep a light mood, Sans had been there to help him. "So. How do we get the others to wake up? As much as it was luck that I found this, I doubt that I'll get as lucky with the others."

Toriel stood up, her expression set. "Leave it to me. I have a few ideas." She frowned. "What of the flower?"

Alex shook his head. "I'm fairly certain there is a camera attached to the stem. There's not much we can do about it till I figure out a way to either disrupt the feed or remove it."

"The plant is alive, Alex." He looked to Toriel, expression blank. Her gaze was hard. "Whether it is a monster or not is left to be determined but somehow, someway, that flower is alive."

"I know." Alex watched surprise color Toriel's expression. "I also know the camera is there to keep tabs on me, for whatever reason. Thus why I left the flower upstairs and isolated you."

Toriel conceded. "You have a plan, then?"

Alex nodded. "Hopefully the little guy can give us a lead on where to go. I've been scouring maps to find some hint of where to even begin but the last 30 years worth of maps have given me nothing."

"Do you want me to help?"

He shook his head. "No. Get the others to wake up. None of this will matter if we can't get everyone's help in this. Someone is clearly trying to cover up the brothers' disappearance and going through a lot of effort to do so."

Toriel shifted her weight but did not move from where she stood. "You have an idea of who it is."

He nodded again, not surprised that she had picked up on that. "I just can't prove it till I get the flower to talk."

She nodded in turn. She looked to the door before looking to him once more. "Will you be leaving the others to me, then?"

"You know them far more intimately than I do," he offered, shrugging. "It was just luck that I could even just wake you before resorting to getting the flower to talk. Hopefully you'll have just as much luck as I had waking you in walking the others."

She offered him an encouraging smile. "I'm sure I will." The smile fell. "Keep me informed on what you discover from that flower."

"Of course."

He stood alone in the room after Toriel left, not sure how he felt. Exhaustion was certainly winning but he couldn't sleep yet. Rubbing at his face under his glasses, he gathered the camera and tape and headed back to Papyrus's room.

The hallway was empty when he finally arrived at the door so he was able to slip in without anyone seeing him. Camera and tape returned to their rightful places, Alex headed for a different part of the lab.

He knocked on the frame of the open door causing those in the room to look at him. "Alex!" the only monster in the room happily chimed, bounding over. "What's the occasion?"

"I was wondering if I could borrow that device again." He gave an embarrassed smile as he rubbed the back of his neck as another monster stepped around him into the room. "Not sure why the darn thing's name won't stick with me."

One of the humans walked over with the square device in hand as the monster before him asked teasingly, "You remember how to work it, at least?"

Alex laughed as he took the device, offering, "If not, I'll be back."

There was a spattering of chuckles at that and he waved goodbye as he left with a word of thanks. Tucking the device under his arm, he returned to his lab. The potted flower was still by the door but it was drooping. He affectionately rubbed a petal as he set the device down beside the flower's pot. He flicked it open and turned the thing on. There was a brief, high pitched soft sound as the thing started working.

He thought he caught the flower twitching out of the corner of his eye.

"You don't have to keep quiet now," he explained, feeling a tad foolish talking to a flower regardless of whether it was a living thing or not. "That device is meant to disrupt any audio or video feed, be it microwaves, radio waves, or any other sort of wave within a small radius."

"You shouldn't have done that."

He jumped in surprise, not expecting such a quick response. He reached out and rubbed a petal again but the flower pulled away, officially giving itself away as it hissed, "Stop that."

Alex let his hand hang between them as he asked, "Why?"

A pair of red eyes looked up beyond the yellow petals. "Because it's pointless, that's why. The gesture is lost on me with no soul."

Alex frowned, his hand returning to his side. "You're soulless or without a soul?"

The face of the flower turned to him fully, yellow petals revealing a confused expression. "What's the difference?" the flower challenged and Alex watched as the flower's mouth moved. It was certainly a good thing he had grown up in a world of monsters because otherwise he probably would not be as calm as he was now faced with a flower that could speak.

"Soulless as in you don't care about your actions and how they affect others." Alex shrugged. "As for the other, humans and monsters all have souls and through magic we can observe them. Are you something without such a soul or are you soulless?"

The flower's face twisted up in annoyance and frustration. "Both, I guess? I don't know!" The face morphed and Alex let his surprise show. He had yet to come across a monster that could do that. "I just woke up like this, ok? With this creepy guy leaning over me, too."

The flower quaked in what Alex assumed was the equivalent of a shudder. Alex tipped his head to the side, thoughtful. "Do you have memories prior to this form?"

The flower flinched as if Alex had swung at him. Alex perked up at that. "No," the flower ground out, almost spitting.

"Liar."

Alex wasn't completely certain that it had even been a lie but the flower's reaction after his word had been confirmation enough. The face changed back into the softer, first one as the petals drooped and the flower curled towards the pot. "So what if I am?" the flower challenged but what heat the flower put behind those words only made it seem far sadder than it needed to be.

"If you are, that means that you remember what it's like to have a soul," he replied plainly. "If you do have memories, then that means that whoever made you did it for a reason, good or bad."

The flower looked up at him and through the petals he saw a face that seemed to resemble Toriel's, except softer, rounder, and far more like a child's. And suddenly the name was beyond his lips as the realization dawned on him.

"Asriel."

The flower cringed.

Everyone knew the tragic tale of the King and Queen of Monsters and their lost children. While the monarchy didn't rule like they once did, there was still a natural urge by all to treat the pair like royalty, especially in monsters. Sans had explained it once as a ranking system of sorts based around one's magic level and ability to create with it, boss monster versus the common monster and sorts, but Alex had never really engrained the information. He stared at the flower, memories of learning about that historic event clear in his mind.

"77 years," he spoke in astonishment. He turned and shoved at the whiteboards to get to his maps. "77 years and I was only looking in the last 30."

"What are you talking about?" Asriel demanded from his pot.

"Dr. Gaster's hideout," Alex informed him, digging through the maps he had. He had to have one that was old enough. "I've been trying to find where he took the brothers."

"How do you know he took them?"

The question put his fears to word and he stuttered to a halt. He took a steadying breath, reminding himself that there was indeed another there. "Because everyone forgot."

There was silence but Alex turned anyways. He focused on Asriel, the flower's face no longer that of a child's but the first face he had shown Alex. "Dr. Gaster specialized in the manipulation of people's mental states, including the manipulation of memory and the perception of time. If this isn't his work, then I have no idea who took Sans and Papyrus with not even a clue as to why. At least with Dr. Gaster there's history between him and the brothers, whatever that history may be."

Asriel stared at him but Alex didn't break eye contact. Eventually, the flower looked away, turning towards the wall.

"Flowey."

Alex blinked, confusion and curiosity coloring his expression. The flower shifted, exaggerating his eye roll. "My name. It's Flowey now." The fed up expression softened into something sadder. "I don't want my-" Asriel bit back the words. "I don't want them knowing who I was. I'm not that monster anymore."

"Alright," Alex replied, gaining a shocked expression from Flowey. "Flowey it is, then." He turned back to the maps. "Can you move out of the pot or do I need to carry you over here?"

"Why do you need me over there?"

Alex looked over and took in Flowey's incredulous look. "Because I'm hoping that you will show me where Dr. Gaster has taken Sans and Papyrus."

Flowey sneered, shaking the pot but going no further against the restraints. Alex stepped away from the maps. "And what if I said I didn't know where his rabbit hole was?"

Alex unclipped the pot. "Then a good idea would be just fine, seeing as I have a general direction but nothing more." He tucked the pot under his arm, rubbing a petal affectionately when he had a free hand. "It would be easier than scouring all of Snowdin for a single rabbit hole, at least."

Flowey made a noise of disbelief but said no more as Alex placed the pot on the table. For a moment there was no response from Flowey, no sign that the flower was going to give anything up, but then several leafy vines curled out from the soil of the pot. Only one reached across the maps. The leaf free tip pressed against the newest map. "You'll find the entrance he used here," Flowey offered. The vine tip moved a margin away from the point. "There's a less heavily guarded entrance here that you should have an easier time accessing and entering through."

Alex beamed at Flowey as he ran his hand over a number of petals. "Thank you," he spoke, his words heavy and met with a stunned expression on Flowey's face. "Thank you so much."

He quickly marked both spots.

"But what good is that going to do you?" Flowey asked. The question wasn't quite a challenge to Alex's idea, too colored by confusion.

"Toriel is working on waking everyone else," Alex informed the potted flower, picking the pot up gently. "And I'm going to stay out of the way till she has succeeded."

He picked up the jamming device and adjusted the radius before tucking it into Flowey's pot.

"You do realize that if you don't do it in the right order, then people are just going to lose their memories again, right?"

Alex shrugged as the lab doors slid closed and locked behind them. "I'm sure Toriel will figure that out. After all, you are just a flower. It is very unlikely you are the one continuously drugging everyone."

Flowey scrutinized him. "You seem certain that it's something that has to be regularly administered."

"It was an assumption after I had woken up when I had seen Alphys prepping a syringe with some strange liquid. I figured the only reason I hadn't gotten dosed then was because I had covered up enough for them to believe I was still under the influence. The theory only grew stronger the more and more Alphys tried to corner me to try and give me a shot, a pill, something to drink or eat, same with any of the others."

An impressed look crossed Flowey's face. "So you locked yourself up in your lab."

Alex hummed a confirmation. "As well as keeping my room locked." Said room was empty and dark when he opened the door and he flicked the light on. "But, yes, I mostly kept to the lab for prosperity affects."

He locked the door before crossing to the nightstand and setting Flowey's pot down gently.

"But what are you going to do about the camera?" Flowey asked. "You know you can't keep it jammed forever. There's no telling when he'll check again, let alone what he'll do when he can't see anything."

Alex sat on the edge of his bed with a sigh. "I know." He rubbed at his shoulder mindlessly. "Can you tell when he's activated the camera?"

Flowey shook his head. "And I doubt it's consistent on when and for how long. That monster is not stable."

Alex reached over and picked up the device. He kept it active as he rolled it about in his hands. "You do realize that we will be unable to talk with this thing off and the camera clear to transmit a feed at his beck and call, right?"

The petals drooped and Alex's hand twitched as he restrained himself from reaching over and rubbing one.

"I know but what other choice do we have?" Flowey met his gaze. "I'd like to be free of that _monster_ as much as the rest of you as soon as possible too. So what are a few more weeks of inanimate behavior."

Alex gave in and reached over, cupping the side of Flowey's head and rubbing what petals his thumb could reach. "I'll get you free as soon as I can. I promise."

The expression on Flowey's face was hard to read but the flower gave a sharp nod. "Just make it quick."

That quick turned into a week and a half. Alex kept to the rough routine he had set when he had been trying to find the brothers on his own but now he added an hour here and there in his lab to turn on the jamming device so that Flowey had a moment of normalcy in all the waiting. Even though there was no way the flower could properly convey such thoughts, Alex felt sure that Flowey was grateful for the moments of reprieve even while being a snarky little plant. Alex quickly found that Flowey was an excellent chess player once the flower figured out the rules and got the hang of moving things with his vines so the hour here and there was mostly spent playing chess.

It was during one of their little matches that the news came.

There was a knock on his lab door. Alex looked up, the space a wreck now that he was actually trying to work on actual work. Getting up from the center of the paper strewn floor where he and Flowey had set up – said flower was still contemplating his next move and completely disregarded the knocking – Alex crossed to the door. There was the sound of the door unlocking before it hissed open.

Toriel was on the other side beaming, Undyne behind her left shoulder and Alphys at her other side. "Everyone is awake," Toriel announced happily. "Asgore is gathering a few others but he told us to go ahead and settle in the dining room and make a plan while we wait."

Alex nodded, determination settling over his expression. "Let me gather a few things and Flowey and we can head that way."

"F-Flowey?" Alphys asked, frowning behind her large glasses.

"Flowey the Flower," Alex supplied, picking up said flower. He carefully stepped around their game as Flowey quietly cursed him for interrupting his plotting. "He's the reason we even know where to look for the brothers."

"Can we trust it?"

He stilled, hand over the map they needed. Flowey's vines snaked out, rolled the map up for him, and gingerly wrapped around the tube of paper as the flower's face turned to look up at him. Alex didn't look at him, instead turning to look at Undyne. He couldn't fault her for her question. Papyrus was her best friend and part of her unit.

"Whether we should or shouldn't, I do," Alex informed her calmly. "And right now I'm willing to take what information he has given us – the only lead I have of where our friends-our family has gone – and seeing where it ends because right now it's all we've got."

There was a breath, a moment where the others waited to see what would happen, before Undyne nodded, giving him that. "Alright," she said, determination filling her own expression. "Then where do we start?"

"With this."

The map was pushed out on the dining table, pinned down by objects on every corner. Flowey got placed over the lab. The last week and a half had allowed Alex to find a better, larger map of the area that had the most detail terrain wise. The lab took up a hardy chuck of the southeastern corner of the map on which Flowey seemed quite pleased to be sitting. Alex got briefly distracted, wondering what sort of mini adventure Flowey was dreaming of.

Alex pressed his finger to the first entrance Flowey had shown him. "This is roughly where the entrance Dr. Gaster mainly uses is located. I was able to find the right dates for maps and blueprints for whatever had been here to find that this particular entrance opened to the first sublevel of what was an old lap. This entrance over here," he pressed his finger to the second mark northwest of the first one, "is in through the original building itself. I'm not sure how this small lab managed to go undocumented after so many years, regardless of inhabitance or not, but no maps within the last 75 years have it marked and I have found very little details about it earlier than that in any other format. This means we may be going in blind if there are any structural damages or major changes to the building's original floorplan."

Undyne leaned forward, hands splayed on the table's surface. "Do you have a blueprint on you?"

One of Flowey's vines picked up the pieces of parchment from the floor. Alex hadn't realized the flower had grabbed anything other than the map and he affectionately rubbed a petal in thanks as the blueprints were passed to Undyne. "Those two are the only ones that I could find that were new enough and still intact enough to read."

She pressed out the two blueprints, the one far more faded than the other clearly being the more detailed one. The newer one more closely resembled an emergency exit map than actual blueprints. She pressed a finger to a part of the section labeled 'Sublevel 1'. "This the entrance you were talking about."

Alex nodded, reaching across and pointing out the entrance they would be using on the section labeled 'Floor 1'. "This will be where we will start at. If we can't gain access from here, our best bet is to check out the rest of the upper building before trying our hands on the one we know that works. I'd rather avoid facing Gaster till the last possible minute if I can help it."

"Wh-what does he l-look like now?" Alphys asked from where she stood apart from him, Undyne, and Toriel.

He looked to her, offering with a weak smile but it was Flowey who answered her question.

"Nothing like the skeleton he had been."

"Skeleton?" Toriel asked, frowning.

Flowey shrugged, pulling it off with the two leaves situated on the stem that supported the flower's bud behaving as arms. "I don't know much about Gaster personally but I have heard his mutterings from time to time. He was not always the goopy, inky mass he is now."

"Goopy?" Undyne asked as Alphys inquired at the same time, "Inky?"

Again, Flowey shrugged but the glare he sent them was new. "I don't know how to explain what he looks like, ok? You'll just have to see it for yourself."

Alex reached over and rubbed a petal. Flowey relaxed a bit. "Regardless, we're going to attempt to not run into Dr. Gaster if we can help it."

"You can't be sure he's grown complacent," Flowey pointed out.

Alex rubbed a new petal. "True, but I can at least hope. Our main goal is to find the brothers and get them out. Trying to pick a fight will only delay us."

"Teams then?"Undyne asked.

Alex shrugged. "It may not come to that but I am not opposed to it."

Toriel spoke up. "Why do you think it won't come to that."

Alex reached over to the blueprint of the building, touching a massive room on Sublevel 1. "Flowey said the main door Dr. Gaster uses leads into Sublevel 1. That led me to believe that he was utilizing a space on that level to work, which would make sense. There would be no indication of life if all the activity is happening beneath ground level. And if the structure is sound enough, he would most likely have taken up residence in the largest room. Most experiments need quite a bit of space, especially ones that require a lot of equipment. If nothing else, it's something to aim for."

"That is quite a bit of speculation," Toriel pointed out, looking to him. "Are you sure?"

Alex shrugged, taking a step back. "I am not a fighter, nor a strategist. I'm a scientist, which means I can make hypotheses about where Sans and Papyrus may be but I can't guarantee anything."

"That is why I will take it over from here."

All eyes turned to the door as Asgore stepped in followed by a few canine monsters that were in the Royal Guard as well as a few human guards.

Alex nodded and picked Flowey up, holding the pot close to his chest. He settled in the background, gaze on the map, ear open to the conversations, but not actually engaging.

He blinked, looking up as Toriel touched him arm. She offered him an encouraging smile. "They will be leaving in a few minutes. It would be best if you went and got ready as well."

Alex gave a muted nod, pushing off the wall he had been leaning on. He and Toriel went separate ways barely halfway to his room and he was grateful. He pressed his face partially into the back of a few of Flowey's petals, lost in thought.

"Why are you doing that?" Flowey drawled.

"Sorry," he offered weakly, removing his face.

Flowey gave him a scrutinizing look. "That doesn't answer my question."

Alex didn't meet Flowey's gaze as he opened his door. "I guess I was just looking for comfort. This whole situation is freaking me out and I'm not sure how well I'll be able to weather through it."

Flowey frowned at him. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know of my condition?" Alex asked casually, placing Flowey on the nightstand.

"What condition," Flowey demanded. Alex missed whatever expression had been present on the flower's face at that as he started to change clothes.

"Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy," Alex spoke in rote. "A heart condition that makes things, ah...interesting."

"I don't understand."

Alex pulled out a jacket and slung it on over the shirt and long sleeve undershirt he had changed into. "Basically, it's a complicated name for simply not having a fully developed left ventricle. My heart can't handle stress very well." He looked to Flowey, certain his exhaustion was written all over his face. "On top of that, my lungs are damaged and not just from my smoking habit. If I make it out of this alive, I'll be impressed. I've been pushing my life expectancy since I turned six, so, there's that."

Flowey was still frowning at him when he picked the potted flower up. "Aren't there drugs and things to help with that?" He gained a flat look from the flower. "Like not smoking."

He chuckled. "If my condition was more common, sure, but there have not been enough of us born with it in this Underground or any of the ones we used to be in contact with to actually have anything of sustenance to study and work with. As much as it would be nice to have a normal life, I'm honestly ok with the death date hanging over my head."

Flowey actually looked startled at that and Alex laughed, gaining a few passing glances. "Don't worry, I'm not suicidal. Just tired." He gave a tired smile. "And, honestly, I couldn't see a greater thing to die from than working to save the brothers."

Flowey turned, looking ahead of them as he crossed the two leaves acting as arm mimics. "Well, just don't go getting yourself killed. It certainly wouldn't be doing anyone any favors after all this."

Alex shifted the weight of the pot into one hand as he chuckled. He rubbed at a few petals with his free hand with a fond smile. "I'll do what I can but I'm not making any promises."

He wondered if Flowey pressing into his touch was his imagination from him walking.

Undyne found him before he could wander very far. She didn't say anything as she turned and gestured for him to follow. He fell into step dutifully, Flowey quiet in his arms.

The others were already at the main entrance of the lab when they arrived and Alex was surprised to see a few extra people there, particularly Toriel and Alphys. Last he had heard, they weren't coming with.

"We'll be seeing you off," Toriel informed him as she approached him, keeping him briefly separate from the rest of the group. He passed her Flowey, ghosting a hand over the top of his petals in a quick gesture.

"Don't mind his sharp words while I'm gone," Alex offered as a weak conversation piece. The smile on his lips felt just as weak. "And make sure he has something he can engage in. Boredom will only make his words sharper."

A vine smacked at his hand as the flower glared at him. His weak smile turned into a weak grin as Toriel smiled. "I will keep that in mind." She placed a large paw on his shoulder. "You will take care, will you not?"

Alex nodded, any pretense of amusement falling from his face. He wondered if he looked more tired like that. "As best I can. Our main objective is get in, get the brothers, and get out with no confrontation if we can help it."

"I-I-I will be e-expecting to see you afterwards, A-alex," Alphys spoke up, her gaze sharp behind those large glasses resting on her snout. "I-I-I want to be c-certain you are f-fine after this."

Alex nodded, not looking to counter her decision as Asgore straightened, gaining everyone's attention as he looked over the crowd and asked, "Is everyone present?" When there was no word against the question, he nodded. "Then let us head out." His gaze fell on Alex and Undyne. "Lead the way."

Alex nodded and stepped forward, Undyne falling into step behind his right shoulder. He could hear the plates of her armor moving against each other in a soft, smooth sound. Though it didn't get used very often, she clearly still took care of her armor. It was obvious by all – even Asgore – that despite his words, they were anticipating a fight with how everyone was dressed in some form of armor. Alex was clearly the only civilian going and he suddenly felt like he was in the way as he took the first step into the fresh snow just beyond the lab's parking lot, footfall sure as he led the way into Snowdin's forest.

The trek was quiet beyond the sounds of the forest and their footfall in the snow. The sliding of well kept plate armor and clothing was an undertone to the harsh crunching against the ice layer beneath the fresh powder. Occasionally there would be muttered words or the sound of sniffing but it was nothing more than the canine monsters as they wandered the border of the mass of people and reported any findings.

There weren't many.

A hand settled on his shoulder and he jumped, looking over at Undyne. Her good eye held concern as she asked softly, "How you holding up?"

"I'm fine, Undyne," he offered with an amused smile.

Her gaze hardened. "Your hands are shaking."

Surprise rushed through him as he looked down. Sure enough his hands were trembling in the gloves he couldn't remember shoving on. He clenched his hands into fists, trying desperately to stave off the tremors. Her grip tightened on his shoulder and he fought the urge to shrug it off. "I can lead from here if you want to head back to the lab."

Alex shook his head. "No. I want to help find them." He met Undyne's gaze again. "If I'm not there helping, I'll just kill myself with worry. Besides," they stepped around a clutch of trees and the ruins of a building were suddenly ahead of them, "it would be pointless to leave now." He turned as the group behind them came to a stop, Asgore the only one approaching. The boss monster's expression was hard but Alex recognized it for the mask that it was. "Here's the main entrance to the building." Asgore stopped before he stepped fully between Alex and Undyne. Alex studied his face. "Does it look familiar?"

After a moment's hesitation, Asgore confessed, "I am not sure. It feels as if I should know this building but I do not know if it is time's affect on the building or myself that makes it unrecognizable."

Alex nodded, stepping back as Asgore moved forward, a pair of canine monsters rushing forward to follow. Undyne stepped up to Alex's side, questioning, "What made you think Asgore would recognize it?"

Alex gave her a side look. "Because he's a boss monster, one that has lived so long to be able to say that he had lived during the times of the Overworld War. On top of that, he and Toriel have been in Snowdin since their children passed away some 77 years ago and then some. If anyone knows the lands, it would be them." He looked back at the building. "Not to mention this building is currently being occupied by one Dr. W.D. Gaster, the original Royal Scientist. If this had been the monster's home or lab, it would have given us a bit better of a chance of knowing the layout. As much as we scientists isolate ourselves, Asgore and Toriel are very personable and would have made house calls to check up on both the progress of the projects and how the scientist is handling the strain, making sure that breaks are taken and proper food is consumed before proper rest is found."

Undyne arched an eye ridge at him. "They do that? As Royals?"

Alex shrugged, watching as the trio returned from their scouting of the building's perimeter. "You and I both know that their old titles have no standing anymore. The Council had offered them places on it, had encouraged it, but after the death of their children and so many others, after so many years of service, they retired. Now they simply run the Snowdin Lab out of something to do and they're good at making sure their scientists tend to themselves properly." He shot Undyne a smile as the canine monsters rushed by back to the group. "Did you never once question why there were actual living quarters in the lab? Why each of us were granted living quarters for loved ones and personal work spaces? The Dreemurrs led the construction and expansion of the Snowdin Lab."

"That had been quite an enjoyable experience as well," Asgore added as he joined them, a pleasant smile on his face. "I am glad the Council allowed Tori and I to retire after everything. So much good has come of it."

Alex hummed in agreement.

Asgore placed a large paw on both Alex's and Undyne's backs guiding them gently back towards the main body of the group. "Come. I want one last word before we enter."

Alex fell into step without another word, though he could feel Undyne's eye on him.

"There was no sign of activity or security from the boundaries," Asgore spoke, his expression serious even as he didn't remove his paw from Alex's back. "The front door looks feeble enough that I am going to send Dogi and Spencer to see if they can get in quietly and carefully." The two canine monsters that had checked the house with Asgore moved towards a human. The human nodded. "Don't forget to check to see if the door is already unlocked but be careful opening the door regardless," Asgore directed to the human specifically before returning his attention to the whole group. "Once they have gained entrance, they will scout ahead as we file in behind them. Alex will take the lead at this point and guide us to the first sublevel. Once there, we fan out in teams of twos and threes looking for Sans and Papyrus and any other survivors. Avoid killing anyone to the best of your ability. Any questions?" There was a number of heads that were shook no but no one actually said anything. "Good. Then let us find the brothers."

The trio dashed ahead and Alex settled back at the edge of the forest. Undyne seemed to be his shadow now as she joined him without a word. A few minutes later, they all watched the front door open and the three dashed in. Alex shifted but offered no words when Undyne glanced his way. There were no words to be spared as they all waited for some sort of signal, good or bad.

Dogamy returned to the door and gestured for them to follow.

Alex raced across the grounds, Undyne easily keeping pace even as he hit the deck's stairs. He was across the threshold first, his footfall unpracticed but as soft as he could make it as he walked carefully into the space. The place looked thoroughly abandoned, not even a piece of furniture remaining to dictate that anyone had once lived there. The trio that had entered first had found the stairs down a side hallway and Alex nodded to them before he started down, Undyne so close that he feared she would trip him up on their descent.

That never happened and his foot touched level ground without an issue. It was unbelievably dark and it was only thanks to the spear Undyne had summoned that he had any light to see by. She passed him the spear as she summoned another one. He stepped away from the stairs, orienting himself with the maps he had looked over enough to have nearly memorized. He briefly noted that a few other monsters had created their own lights through their magic. The brightest light came from Asgore's trident where a flame had nestled among the prongs. Alex caught the boss monster's gaze long enough to receive a nod before he turned and started walking down the hallway he hoped would lead to where he needed it to go.

Thankfully it went unobscured and he was able to continue on to a new hallway some minutes into his search.

The next turn proved how close they had gotten as he found one end of the hallway bathed in low light from the room at the end. He moved towards it but a hand around his bicep stopped him. He looked back to see Undyne and some human Alex didn't know there with him, Undyne's hard gaze on him.

"Don't go wandering off on your own," she growled out, voice barely audible even in the silence.

He pulled his arm from her grip, finding that her hold broke rather easily all things considered. "I had thought you were with me," he answered honestly, his voice just as soft. "Besides, you have to be as eager as I am to find them before Dr. Gaster discovers we're here and does something to them."

She gritted her teeth. He was right and he could see she was not ok with that. Still, she nodded but instead of letting him go on ahead, she took point, giving him a pointed look when he tried to surpass her. As they neared the lit end of the hallway, Undyne directed him and the other human up against the left wall. They stopped at the edge of the space and Alex took in the expansive room beyond.

It was a wreck, tech and equipment everywhere. Wires, cables, and pipes looked corroded and in desperate need of replacement. There was clear signs of electricity being fed through some cables that were dangerously exposed and Alex couldn't help but shudder. Undyne glanced back at him.

"Where to, brainiac?" she asked.

He gave her a flat look. "Let me lead."

She glared at him but he didn't waver. With a soft sigh, she stepped out of his way.

Hunched low, Alex moved forward, gaze going back and forth to take in all the room that he could see during his slow progress through it. He could hear Undyne and the other human behind him, moving with him. It felt like ages till they reached the other side of the room. There was a giant machine of sorts blocking their view but when Alex glanced around it, he saw-

"Sans!" he hissed but the skeleton did not stir. Undyne, however, moved to look around the object as well, pressing a hand into his back to keep either him in place or herself steady. She edged out farther than he had only to come back, hand tangled in his jacket and forcing him to follow her some ways back the way they had come.

"They are both strapped down," Undyne informed them, eye wary but her expression hard, "and it doesn't look like our big bad is anywhere nearby. Let's backtrack and get the others."

Alex grabbed at her wrist, his grip as hard as he could make it around the fabric armor. "We can't just leave them," he ground out. "We leave and we run the risk of him returning and doing the brothers more harm. There are three of us. We go in, grab them, and book it back to the others. No big deal."

Undyne shook her head. "It's too much of a risk. If this Gaster returns-"

"Then we run, right?" the other human supplied, clearly on Alex's side with this. "Meaning no offence, Captain, but the scientist has a point. Not to mention we would be wasting precious time going back to only return here. If we move quickly, this will be a non-issue and we can leave this place completely."

Undyne growled, not appreciating being out numbered, but their logic had worn her down. She gave a sharp nod. "Fine. But let me break their bonds. Grison, you grab Sans. Alex, you'll help me with Papyrus."

The two humans nodded.

Undyne moved back to the edge of the machine and looked around as Alex came up right behind her, waiting. When Undyne dashed forward, Alex was right behind her, the other human on his heels. As much as he wanted to go to Sans first, he passed the stout skeleton slowly coming to at the commotion he was certain they were making. Papyrus made no such reaction.

"Ullux?" Sans slurred from his table, the sound jarring in the silence. "Wuz goen on?"

No one answered him as spears twirled into existence over the lock parts of the bindings and sliced through with such precision that the bindings were cleanly cut while the skeletons were left untouched. Alex caught Papyrus with a grunt, the lanky skeleton's dead weight being far more than he had anticipated. It seemed the other human was far better prepared to catch Sans for when Alex glanced over Sans was draped over the human's back, arms dangling over the human's shoulder and legs being brought up on either side of the human's waist so that the human could hook his arms underneath the skeleton's knees.

"Were u taken us?" Sans slurred some more, this time the words sounding like a demand.

Undyne took Papyrus off of Alex and hefted the skeleton into a fireman's carry. Alex was partially perplexed on why Undyne even had him help in the first place till he remembered she had been the one to break the skeletons' bonds. Knowing Undyne had it from there, he quickly hurried to the other human's side, careful hand pressing against Sans's exposed cheek. "We're getting you home, Sans," Alex whispered, his thumb rubbing against bone he had feared he would never touch again. "Just stay quiet, ok?"

"M'kay," Sans mumbled, what faint pupils had formed vanishing as Sans seemed to fall unconscious again.

Alex looked to Undyne and nodded. "Let's go," he breathed.

She gestured with her head for the human with Sans to go ahead of her but nothing she did got Alex to get ahead of her so she settled with having him keeping close to her side, watching her back. Alex was glad she had because no sooner had they slipped beyond the machine did the room flood with light. Alex tried to clear his eyes of spots as Undyne yelled, "Run!"

Desperation shoved his feet after her and managed to keep pace with the laden fish monster. A voice reverberated through the space in words that made no sense and caused them all to flinch. But even as his ears heard noises that made no sense, Alex's mind was filled with a voice that echoes and reverberated in ways that hurt.

 **"ANd whERE EXACTly dO yOU THINk yOU aRE gOiNg?"**

"Faster!" Alex screamed without glancing back. He had no need to. Whatever Gaster had become was making enough noise for Alex to know that they were losing ground rapidly.

They passed into the hallway they had come from and, for a brief - _foolish_ – moment, he thought they were going to be safe, that they were going to be free.

Then something slammed into his back, tendrils slapping around his torso to grip tightly, and he knew that he had been so very wrong.

Yanked backwards, he let out an involuntary cry at the painful change in directions. Undyne and the other human slowed but he was dragged too quickly back into the large lab space to know if they actually turned around or kept going.

He hoped they kept running.

Whatever was dragging him through the space wasn't overly careful as he bumped and banged into different objects, all hard, all unforgiving. By the time he was flung to the floor, his entire body ached from the mistreatment and he reached up with a shaking hand to fix his glasses.

The room came into better focus and he found the space to be unfamiliar, not that it meant much. Clambering shakily to his feet, he made to get out of there but was slammed into some wall. Whatever had thrown him into the unyielding surface was still pressed against his torso, tendrils oozing slowly around his chest to encompass him in full as the mass that was now Dr. W.D. Gaster came into view.

He jerked against the mass pinning him, hands pressing into the goopy mass only to have it slowly give under his pushing and sucking his arms into the goop still oozing to encompass his torso. He jerked again, this time jerking backwards and hitting his head against the unforgiving wall.

Pain flared through his skull that only intensified with the distorted chuckle that rang through it.

 **"YOU caN STruggLe aLL you WaNt. ThERe iS nOWheRe fOR you TO gO."**

He forced an eye open against the pain, flinching away as a tendril reached towards his face as what passed as Gaster's face moved closer.

A shudder ran down his spine when the tendril rubbed against the bridge of his nose and he opened his eyes to stare up at a hazy Gaster, the tendril dangling his glasses before his face. The goop around his torso was starting to climb his neck.

 **"piTy You'rE brOKEN."**

He had only a moment to gasp at the sensation of some of the slimy goop slipping under his shirt and sliding to his chest before pain erupted from where the sensation stopped. He tried to curl up, tried to get away, but whatever was digging its way into his chest was spreading throughout his body. There was nothing he could do except scream as the pain and whatever was filling him reached through his limbs and started to crawl up through his neck. He squeezed his eyes shut, gave one last futile attempt to break free as his pain filled scream turned fearful.

He knew nothing more when it touched his brain.

Sans wasn't sure what he was seeing was real. There, beside his brother, was Alex. Magic made spears that were oddly familiar were materializing over Papyrus's bindings and, for a moment, he feared the worst.

But then Papyrus was falling from his bindings and Sans suddenly found him chest against someone's back he didn't know. To even summon pupils hurt but even the faint ones he formed cleared his vision enough for him to watch Papyrus being hefted onto Undyne's shoulders from where he laid dead weight on the stranger's back. There was a jostle, like the human was hefting him higher up, and the words spilled out in a slur without his bidding.

"Were u taken us?"

The Alex he could barely make out stepped clearly into view, hand coming up to cup his face. Sans felt a shudder race down his spine at the contact.

"We're getting you home, Sans," Alex whispered, his thumb rubbing against Sans's cheek. "Just stay quiet, ok?"

"M'kay," Sans mumbled, what faint pupils he had formed vanishing as he fully slumped against the stranger holding him. If Alex said they were going home, he trusted him, even with as foolish as that was.

Alex looked to Undyne and nodded. "Let's go," he breathed.

There was sudden jostling and Sans barely registered that the stranger he was draped across had gone first as the blurry world started to dash by. There was a moment, a pause as they made their way back towards some exit and then the room flooded with light. He flinched from the sudden sensory assault as Undyne yelled, "Run!" somewhere behind him.

The stranger carrying him made no attempt to make it a smooth ride and he couldn't blame them in his foggy mind. Especially not when that voice rattled through his head making his hands twitch.

 **"ANd whERE EXACTly dO yOU THINk yOU aRE gOiNg?"**

"Faster!" Alex screamed somewhere behind him. Sans felt his soul quicken at that. How far did they have to go? Would they make it in time?

The lighting changed drastically and it was with faint pupils that he took in a hallway he couldn't remember them entering. He raised his head as best he could and looked back.

Magic condensed rapidly into pinprick pupils as he watched Gaster slam a tendril into Alex's back, a spider web of smaller tendrils slapping around the human's torso, and yanked him back towards the lab they were leaving.

He wasn't sure if it was him or Alex that had screamed.

Probably both.

"Keep moving!" Undyne barked even as the human carrying him seemed to speed up.

"But what about-" the stranger started but Undyne cut him off.

"He'll have to survive until I can get aid."

Chatter drew Sans's attention from the shrinking doorway behind them and he turned to see Asgore and others pouring into the hallway. Undyne moved passed the slowing human carrying Sans and carefully passed Papyrus to the Dogi. The couple was very careful, supporting the unconscious skeleton well.

"Alex was captured," Undyne quickly explained to Asgore. "We have to go back for him."

Asgore nodded, looking to those that gathered. "Wait here. We'll take the most direct route out as soon as we have Alex."

There was a collection of nods as the pair raced back towards the lab. Sans watched them go as screams started to reach them. Sans bit back some noise that had climbed up the back of his throat and pulled at the human's top even as exhaustion begged him to sleep again. "Put me down." The human glanced back at him but he didn't give them a chance to argue as he repeated, "Put me down. Now."

The human complied without a word, setting him on shaking legs. But they stayed under him and he found that he couldn't bring himself to ease the fist tangled in the human's top.

The screams suddenly changed and Sans took a step forward, magic churning inside him so painful that he would have collapsed to the floor had the human not wrapped their arms around his chest.

"Alex," he croaked, pushing against the human's arms even as he was pulled upright.

"They'll rescue him, Sans," the human urged, not letting go. "But they can only do that if you stay here."

The majority of the lights suddenly went out in the lab. What light remained flickered and danced in a way that made Sans uneasy. And just as he was trying to figure out what was going on, the smell of smoke touched his senses.

His pupils shrank. "Fire," he whispered as his right socket throbbed. His entire body started to shake and he gripped at the arms holding him up. "Oh stars."

"Sans?" the human asked but he ignored them, left socket trained on the end of the hallway as he pressed his hand against his right socket trying to ease the sudden pain.

The flames were being fueled by something potent because it wasn't long before the fire was making its way down the hallway. The body of people slowly moved back the way they had come till the fire cut them off. Sans barely noticed that those that had made it down the side hallway were returning looking scared and defeated.

"How do we get out now?" someone asked.

A thought flickered through his mind and he spoke without moving his gaze from the inferno heading their way, "There's an exit at the other end of this hallway. It leads into the surrounding forest."

"We should start heading that way," another said.

Someone else shot back, "Not without Asgore and Undyne."

"I'm not getting burned alive!"

There was movement at the fire filled end of the hallway and suddenly Asgore came bursting through the wall of flames, Undyne right on his tail with spears appearing and firing at something.

And then Gaster appeared and Sans jerked back, nearly throwing himself and the human off balance.

The tar mass that was Gaster was spreading, tendrils slapping against the wall as he was spread out so that the entire other end of the hallway was obscured by his mass. Other tendrils shot out and forward, some getting impaled by Undyne's spears, others dodging but not making any actual progress in grabbing either escaping prey. The hallway was quickly shortening as Gaster came after them.

Asgore was upon them all far too soon, meaning Gaster was not too far behind.

"To the exit!" Asgore barked, and Sans found himself suddenly hefted up onto the human's back before being carried away from the monster chasing them all.

There was a rumble, low but telling, and Sans tore his gaze from Gaster in time to watch the ceiling give out. Somehow the fire had spread to the floor above them because when the ceiling gave between Gaster and the group of fleeing humans and monsters, there was quite a bit of burning material that nearly crushed Undyne in the process of halting Gaster's progress. Undyne raced ahead, no longer burdened with the task of protecting the back of the fleeing group.

But Sans was unable to keep from watching the burning blockade as Gaster screamed in rage. It wasn't till the brisk night air hit him that he realized they had made it outside.

Somewhere in the trees a large fire was ragimg. He wondered if it was the rest of the lab.

"How's Alex?" Undyne asked as those running came to a stop some distance from the exit.

Sans looked over to the boss monster being questioned and found Asgore's arms laden with an unconscious Alex. "I don't know," Asgore confessed, meeting Sans's gaze over Undyne's shoulder. "But we'll get them all home and checked over. There's no need to stay here now that we have Sans and Papyrus back."

There was a collective agreement as the group started for the Snowdin lab. Sans fought the exhaustion as best he could but was unable to keep the darkness at bay. It took over as the lab came into view and he was unconscious before the human carrying him made it to the parking lot.

When he woke again, he found himself in his room staring at a ceiling he hadn't realized he had missed till that moment. He looked over to his bedside and found it empty. It made his soul hurt to not find someone there waiting for him to wake up.

Pushing himself upright was exhausting but he wasn't about to lay about when he knew nothing of his brother's condition nor Alex's. He shuffled his way over to the door and opened it, stepping out into a quiet hallway. He hadn't bothered to glance at the clock and see what the time was. It didn't matter. What mattered was finding out how his brother and Alex were doing.

His soul twisted at the thought of what Gaster could have done to Alex and he quickened his pace as best he could.

He found Papyrus's room first but it was empty, though there were clear signs that it had been used recently. Turning, he started in the direction he had just come from aiming for Alex's room.

It was there he found the others. Papyrus was seated in a chair beside Alex's occupied bed, Toriel and Asgore standing near the door as Undyne was seated in a chair at the foot of Alex's bed, Alphys on the floor leaning back against Undyne's legs with Undyne's arms draped over her shoulders. For some reason there was a potted flower with a face sitting in Papyrus's lap.

"So what's the damage?" Sans asked, his voice coming out gravelly and lower than normal.

Everyone looked at him but he only had eyes for his brother and the unconscious Alex in the bed. Alex looked sickly pale as Papyrus looked exhausted and thin. The last who knew how long had not been kind to either of them and Papyrus's magic was not able to fill out the clothes draped over his bones like it normally would have, making Papyrus look as skinny as his physical form truly was. It was a haunting image.

Sans wondered if he was the only one to see the orange magic churning in Papyrus's sockets, not as tears but as barely restrained magic.

"Gaster did something to Alex but they're not sure what," Papyrus spoke, expression hard. "I've been given the green light to move about but they said that the trait infusion may have done some unforeseen damage to my system."

"T-t-trait infusions like w-what Papyrus went th-through usually h-have some sort of r-repercussions," Alphys supplied meekly from her spot on the floor.

Sans turned his attention back to Papyrus. "How do you feel about it?"

Papyrus shrugged, exhaustion creeping into his hard expression. "Right now, exhausted but not any different. That may be due to the lack of magic from Gaster's last experiment."

Sans nodded, remembering how Gaster had forced Papyrus to expel so much magic that it had left Sans wondering if he would even have a brother when Gaster made him finally stop. It hadn't helped that Gaster had done the same thing to him before turning on Papyrus.

"They found Frisk."

Sans jerked at that, sockets wide as they focused on the potted flower in Papyrus's hands. There, in the center of the petals, was a round face with few details beyond a pair of eyes and a mouth. The expression he was seeing was guarded and wary. "They found Frisk about the same time they found you and Papyrus," the flower continued.

"Flowey's right," Toriel spoke, causing Sans to jump. Her expression was hard to read when he looked over but he was sure that concern and regret was part of it. "Asgore's group found the child in a cell not far from where you and your brother were found."

"Did you find any others?" Sans snapped, not sure if it was fear or anger that had made his words sharp.

"No," Asgore spoke, expression hard as he stepped forward and partially in front of Toriel. Sans lowered his face to show that he hadn't meant anything by it. "Only the one child. Should we have found others?"

Sans shook his head. "The other was a menace, completely controlled by Gaster. If you were only able to find and save one, I'm glad it was Frisk and not Chara."

"Could Chara have made it out?" Papyrus asked.

Sans looked over. He couldn't read Papyrus's expression and wasn't sure if he really wanted to. "It wouldn't surprise me but I'm not sure where they would have gone."

"Could we save Chara, too?"

Sans focused on Flowey. "Why would you want to rescue them?"

"Because they aren't truly mindless." Sans arched an eye ridge at the flower. He doubted that and Flowey seemed to understand that for he explained, "Chara was made long before Frisk and behaved very similarly in the beginning. They had been kind, caring, and did as Gaster asked, up to a point. It wasn't till the other experiments started to fail and Gaster started making Chara destroy them that they changed. When Frisk had been created, they had tried to help Chara but, at that point, Chara was beyond whatever help Frisk could offer."

Silence met his words and Sans, for the first time since all this started, felt sympathy for the child with the same name as the villain in his dream.

"When Frisk awakes, we will ask them if they know where this Chara may have gone if they had survived," Toriel spoke up. Sans caught sight of her expression and was unsurprised to see her moved and determined. He smiled weakly. Toriel had always been rather fond of children, especially since her own had passed so long ago.

Flowey nodded, leaning into Papyrus's soft touch as the skeleton stroked the flower's petals.

"So how long till he wakes up?" Sans asked, turning his gaze once more to Alex.

The response - surprisingly - came from Undyne this time. "We don't know. Could be a few hours, could be a couple of days. Until we know what Gaster did to him, we don't have any answers."

Sans shifted his gaze to his brother to find Papyrus studying him. Sans, for his part, merely held his brother's gaze. He knew deep in his soul that neither he nor Papyrus were going to just up and abandon Alex. The human could be in a coma for years or wake up not remembering them at all and they would still stick around and make sure Alex was safe, healthy, and well taken care of till they turned to dust.

He prayed to whatever deity was listening that Alex actually woke up.

He wasn't sure Papyrus would make it through losing Alex after all this.

He certainly wouldn't survive that sick twist of fate, that's for sure.

* * *

Tumblr: undertaleau-othertale


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